


Training Each Other

by MoonShoesReyes



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M, Kara Danvers - Freeform, Oliver Queen - Freeform, Training, kara x oliver, kara zor el - Freeform, oliver x kara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2018-11-13 12:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 43,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11185281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonShoesReyes/pseuds/MoonShoesReyes
Summary: When Kara Zor-El finds out about James Olsen becoming Guardian, she decides that there is only one way she will let it continue: if the best human hero she knows trains him. But when Oliver Queen goes to National City, he finds more than he bargained for, and Kara and Oliver discover they can learn from each other too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 

_Kara Zor-El_

 

            Kara Danvers felt her nose crinkle in concentration as she listened, seated on the edge of a random roof in Star City, her legs dangling off the side. She listened beyond the cars driving by, past the conversations at the dinner table, past the directions being given to cabbies. To be quite honest, she didn’t know for whom she was listening: the Emerald Archer with the gravelly voice, or the pretty-faced mayor who spoke with a persuasion-laced voice. She had yet to actually meet the mayoral version of Oliver Queen, but their mutual friend, Barry Allen, had told her enough.

            The thing about Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, and herself was that they weren’t exactly normal. In fact it could be argued that Kara was the least normal of them all. The three of them lead two lives, one as a normal citizen, and the other as heroes; protectors of the innocent, and professional butt-kickers of bad guys. By night, Oliver donned the green leather of the Green Arrow, Barry became the Flash, and Kara became Supergirl. Both Kara and Barry had been drawn to this life by their circumstances. A few years ago, Barry had been struck by lightning at the same time as a particle accelerator explosion, and became the fastest man alive. Kara had something of a different story. When Kara was young, her home planet of Krypton had exploded, killing everyone with the exception of her and her baby cousin, Kal-El, known on earth as Clark Kent, or Superman. Kara had been sent to protect Kal-El, but her pod was knocked off course and by the time she reached earth, Kal-El had already grown up and become Superman. On this planet, the yellow sun gave Kara and her cousin incredible powers, such as super strength, speed (yet annoyingly not as much as Barry, which he never let her forget), flight, invulnerability, heat and x-ray vision, super-hearing, and freeze breath. All of these things had lead Kara to becoming a hero. They had been given these incredible gifts, and the ability to save people, and so that is what they did.

            Oliver, however, was different. While Barry and Kara had both experienced tragedy, Oliver was completely forged by it. Oliver lived in a world with more shades of grey than Kara and Barry did. And, most importantly, Oliver was completely human, void of any superpowers. Oliver had been forced into a hellish situation, pulling him out of his lavish, playboy life, and forging his body into a weapon. Being at peak human physical condition, Oliver was able to fight alongside those with powers as though he had his own. At least, that was what Barry had told her, and that was the reason she had come to him.

            As Kara listened, she idly wondered for what felt like the thousandth time if she was making the right decision. She had traveled a long way (a parallel dimension, where she was from) to ask Oliver for a favor. However, she wouldn’t classify them as friends. Honestly, Kara would have loved to be friends with Oliver, the disconnect wasn’t from her side of things, but Oliver was…. Hard to read and stoic. Sure they had saved the world together, and he had apologized for being cold to her but there was still something withdrawn about him.

            Despite this, Kara was optimistic that she could reach out to him. She was just worried that they would get the chance to understand each other. Barry had warned Kara that Oliver could be stubborn, and that he liked to keep his team separate from others. Barry theorized that Oliver didn’t want others to get in the way of him doing what he needed to do. Kara secretly mused about Oliver distancing himself, guessing that there was more to the story than the horrors of Star City. Star City, where Oliver lived, was grittier than Barry’s Central City or Kara’s National City. Kara had gotten a taste last time she visited Earth-1 (Where Oliver and Barry lived), but it was only a brief visit to help get a piece of technology. She couldn’t imagine that it was bad enough to warrant the extremes that Oliver went to.

            Distant gunshots pulled Kara out of her reverie. She jolted to her feet, instinctively grabbing at the buttons of her Oxford when she hesitated. This was Oliver’s city; he might not take too kindly to people interfering. With a shake of her head, Kara dismissed this idea. Someone was in danger; Oliver would surely understand why she interfered. Faster than the eye could see, Kara was out of her casual clothes, and was flying off the in a flash of red and blue.

            Kara couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair. She loved flying-she couldn’t fathom how she lived so long without it before she was Supergirl.  The feeling of freedom was unparalleled, especially after being trapped in her pod and, even worse, her own skin when she was still hiding her powers. It was hard for Kara to willingly remember the time before she was Supergirl. She had been terrified of her own abilities, she felt helpless despite her immense power. To this day, Kara struggled when forced to be powerless, and found herself with shortness of breath when stuck in enclosed spaces. It was a silly fear, but one that plagued her nonetheless.

            Kara once again shook the distractions from her mind as she landed outside of a warehouse. From what she could tell, this is where the shots originated. She threw her shoulders backs, proudly brandishing the symbol she wore on her chest, the symbol that meant to her what she had come to mean to the world: hope.

            Kara channeled that hope as she threw open the doors to the warehouse, schooling her face into its fiercest look.

            “Sorry, I think I took a wrong turn somewhere,” she quipped, taking in the scene before her.

 

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            Well this night had taken a turn.

            It was supposed to be just a patrol night. He had even given Curtis, Renee, Dinah, Dig, and Felicity the night off. Oliver sighed internally at his list of partners. It was growing too long; it had been growing too long for a while now. Oliver absently wondered when his mission to save his city turned into vigilante school.

            Oliver turned his attention back to the task at hand. He counted three gunmen with remarkable aim, and one sniper in the rafters. Three hostages sat tied back to back in the middle, a family by the looks of it. Two young parents, and a young boy. Oliver took aim at the sniper, who would have to be taken out first. If he took the sniper out last, Oliver ran the risk of getting shot, or worse, the hostages getting shot.

            That was when shit went sideways. The last person Oliver expected to see entered the warehouse. The exception being, perhaps, some of the people Oliver had killed. The fact that Oliver wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the people he killed was indicative of how twisted his life had become.

            Oliver watched as Supergirl strolled in leisurely, whipping out some unnecessary quip that Barry or Felicity would have appreciated. Before he could process what happened, Kara had taken out the three gunmen. She began to walk towards the hostages, and Oliver could see what was about to happen before she had taken two steps. Kara was completely oblivious to the sniper, and he pulled the trigger only moments after Oliver released the grappling arrow. The bullet hit Kara, harmlessly bouncing off of her abdomen, and headed directly toward the kid. Of course it would be the kid. Oliver tensed as he swung directly in the trajectory of the bullet, wincing as it pierced his arm. He released his grip and fell into a summersault, landing in a squat, primed to jump if needed.

            “Ol-Arrow!” Supergirl said, catching herself before revealing her identity.

            “Supergirl. I wasn’t expecting you here” he replied tersely, as he stiffened into a stand. Oliver wiped the blood that was pooling on his arm, wincing and headed towards the hostages. Dig was gonna have to stitch his arm, and he would never hear the end of it.

            He took out a flechette and began cutting the hostages ropes.

            Kara stood there, her mouth in a dopey “o” shape. By the time she came to her senses, the kid was freed, and Oliver was starting to work on the parents.

            “You’re bleeding!” Kara exclaimed, rushing towards his hurt arm.

            “Yes. You didn’t see the sniper,” he said with forced patience.

            Kara puffed out her chest and attempted to defend herself, “I mean, I got three of the bad guys so that’s not too bad.”

            Oliver gritted his teeth, holding back a reprimand on her carelessness. She had almost gotten a child killed.

            “We can talk about this later,” he finished cutting the ropes on the parents and stood up, turning away from Kara to look at them.“Are you alright?”

            The parents looked at each other, both seemingly wordless.

            Oliver sighed, and squatted next to the kid, who had pulled his knees to his chest.

            “Hi, are you alright?”

            The kid nodded.

            “Do you know why they took you?”

            The kid sniffed and swallowed, looking up at Oliver, “My Grandpa owns a lot of hotels. I am his favorite grandson.”

            Oliver closed his eyes. Of course it was about money. “It’s going to be alright. I want you to take one of the bad guy’s phones and call the police. Can you do that?”

            The kid nodded, and Oliver went to stand up. Before he could, the kid grabbed the leather of his uniform. Oliver pivoted back towards the child, still in a squat, and stiffened as small arms wrapped around his neck. Kara smiled as she saw the Green Arrow hesitantly return the hug.

            After the moment, the child released Oliver, and turned back into the crook of his mother’s arms.

            Oliver turned towards Kara, “They should be okay. I know of the family, they are strong.”

            “Ok, I hope so. Well… Hi!” Kara exclaimed opening her arms and going in for a hug. Before she got within a yard of Oliver, he took a step back. Kara shook the rejection off, saying “We worked so well together! I love team-ups!”

            “It’s not a team up, ” Oliver said simply, “We can discuss why you are here back at the lair.” He loosed another grappling arrow, but before he flew up his conscience got the better of him. “Welcome back to Earth-1, and hello to you too.”

            Without another word, Oliver allowed himself to be pulled into the sky, and he disappeared into the night.

            Kara watched him disappear, her mouth opening and closing, floundering for the answer. She turned towards the hostages, all of whom were staring at her with wide eyes.

            “He’s cool, isn’t he?” she smiled, and flew into the night after Oliver.


	2. Chapter 2

_Oliver Queen_

            Kara was playing with his bow when he walked into the lair. Oliver closed his eyes, taking a deep breath while trying to collect himself and the irritation at seeing Kara handling something so personal. She was touching all of the arrowheads, her fingers pricking the tips that usually make the curious visitors bleed. It’s a shame it wouldn’t work on her he thought darkly.

            When Oliver opened his eyes again, he found Kara holding the broken recurve bow that Talia Al-Ghul had made him.

            “Hi! Why do you still have this if it’s broken?” Kara said in a gratingly chipper voice.

            “Please don’t touch that,” he managed to say through his gritted teeth. He crossed the room in long strides and gently took the bow from Kara, anxious that she would break it.

            “I don’t get it, you have so many nicer bows,” she picked up one of his compact bows and pulled it back. He noticed that she pulled too far, the string stretching to a point where it wouldn’t snap well. He would have to get a new string, he thought, sighing.

            “It was a gift. From an old friend,” he said shortly.

            “Wow! Oliver Queen has a friend? Someone alert the media!” Kara said, a big goofy grin on her face as she took a few steps toward him and slapped his arm.

            Despite himself, Oliver couldn’t help but allow the sides of his mouth to turn up in a whisper of a smile. Kara’s joy was annoying, yes, but it was also infectious. Which was also annoying.

            “That was awesome, Oliver! The way I took those three bad guys out and then you came swinging in! I mean we barely got to work together before! Barry told me you were smooth but you caught that bullet right before it got the kid! Are you okay by the way? I mean yeah, of course you’re okay, you’re you! The Green Arrow! The Emerald Archer!”

            Oliver had a feeling that Kara would just keep going if he didn’t cut her off soon, so he interjected “Kara! Kara. What are you doing here?”

            “Oh! Duh. I mean I am from a different earth I wouldn’t just show up to your crime scene and save the day—“

            “Save the day? Kara, you almost got a child killed,” he cut in.

            “Yea, but you were there! You got in front of the bullet!” She defended herself.

            “Did you know I was there?”

            “No, but—”

            “No. You didn’t, and if I hadn’t the kid could have been hurt. You have brute strength Kara, but you need more than that to do this. You need intelligence, strategy, planning,” he explained in his best calm voice.

            “Are you calling me unintelligent?” Kara responded quietly, anger seeping into her words.

            “No! No. God you’re just like Barry. Kara, you are brilliant, but you’re too impulsive. You have to know what you’re going into before you enter a dangerous situation. Damn, I really am turning into a vigilante school,” Oliver muttered the last bit to himself. Yet Kara, with her super hearing, picked up on it.

            “A vigilante school? First of all, I have been doing fine saving people my way for almost two years now, thank you very much. And secondly, I would never, never be a vigilante! I stand for hope and justice and the American way, something a murderous vigilante could never—“

            Kara was cut off by a sonic scream, pushing her back and to the ground. Before Oliver could blink, two T-spheres were hovering around her, and Wild Dog, Black Canary, Mr. Terrific, and Spartan were entering the lair. Oliver saw Felicity was right behind them.

            “Its okay, its okay. It is just Supergirl,” Oliver said, Curtis and Dinah quickly went to help Kara to her feet, as Oliver turned to her, “Let me guess. You didn’t bypass the security. You set off the silent alarm, which alerted you” he turned to Felicity, who waved impishly, “Who called the rest of the team. Sorry for ruining your night, everyone,” he said, not sounding very sorry at all.

            All eyes turned to Kara, including Oliver’s. He noticed immediately a complete change in her demeanor. guilt was evident in her eyes, and she sheepishly waved at the newly arrived heroes. After a few awkward beats, Felicity, who was quite accustomed to awkwardness, stepped forward to hug Kara.

            “Hi! What on earth are you doing here? I mean our earth, what are you doing on our earth. What on earth as in what in the World-as in our world. Not Krypton. Yes. Sorry. Hi! I'm rambling. I don’t think you have met the new Black Canary, Dinah Drake,” Felicity finished, shooting Oliver a confused glance as she gestured to Dinah.

            “Hey. Kara, right? I've heard a lot about you,” Dinah smiled, extending her hand. Kara happily shook it.

            “Yes! Its Kara, I mean, I’m Kara.”

            “Thank God we have another rambler back with us. Oliver is all about the long silences,” Felicity said as she looped her arm through Kara’s. “You remember Dig, AKA Spartan, Curtis, AKA Mr. Terrific, and Renee, AKA Wild dog?”

            “Yes! Hi! It’s good to see you all again!” Kara looked overwhelmed.

            Dig stepped forward, “Hi, uh, Kara.” He was obviously still uncomfortable about the alien of it all. Despite this, Dig swallowed and said to Kara “Look, I know you just got here, but I think that it is worth saying that Oliver is doing everything in his power to represent hope—“

            “Dig, you don’t need to—” Oliver started.

            “No, Oliver, he is right,” Felicity said, “You have been doing everything you can. You have been good and just under impossible circumstances, and just because you do it with a hood doesn’t make you any less of a hero.”

            “I’ve told you that I don’t do this to be a hero,” Oliver muttered just to Felicity.

            He turned to look at Kara, who had begun to shift her weight on each leg as though uncomfortable. Unfortunately for Oliver, her face read like an open book. He could see each emotion as it washed over her. Guilt, shame, ire, curiosity, and finally regret.

            “You know what, I think I’ve made a mistake. You guys are obviously busy, too busy for my assumptions and me. I am just going to head to see Barry and head home. Nice to see you all again, and Nice to meet you Dinah.” With that, Kara turned around and sped out of the lair.

            All eyes turned to Oliver, who looked frustrated at both his team and himself.

            “Oliver, you have been doing good work. You can’t let one person who doesn’t see all that you do for Star City as the Green Arrow get you down,” Felicity said, walking up to him.

            He felt the guilt sink in, and then became frustrated with himself for his outburst. He knew better than to emote like that. He sighed and turned towards the team. “Call Barry, tell him she is coming. Have him stall her until I get there.”

            With that, Oliver strode out of the lair, searching for the words to apologize to Supergirl.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

 

            Well that went terribly.

            Kara was flying towards Central City, and yet the wind in her hair was giving her the sense of freedom she loved. In fact, she hardly noticed the wind as she was too wrapped up in her thoughts. She was so distracted that she flew straight through a group of birds, who had all squawked angrily at her in response. She couldn’t do right by anyone.

            She hadn’t meant to blow up at Oliver like that. She supposed it was a defense mechanism-I mean he had accused her of almost killing a child. And yet… she had almost killed a child. She had been too hasty, too impulsive heading into the situation. She always forgot what Barry had taught her about casing a situation before heading in.

            Now that she thought about it, it made sense that Oliver would have taught Barry that. But how did Barry stand him? There was an understanding between Barry and Kara. She saw the same hope and goodness and light in Barry as she saw in herself. But Oliver was different. There was such darkness in him, such coldness. But Oliver and Barry were friends despite this. And Barry even looked up to Oliver.

            Kara didn’t know much about Oliver’s life before he became a vigilante. All Barry had told her was that Oliver’s life had been drowned in tragedy, all of which started almost ten years ago. But Kara had lost everything and everyone and still come out the other end a good person. She had never given into the darkness - at least not without the help of red kryptonite.

            Vigilante. That was what Oliver was. He hid his face, he didn’t take credit. He blended into the shadows instead of stepping into the light. He would torture and steal to get what he needed, even if it was for good reason. He had even been a murderer.

            But he still helped people. He saved countless lives, and she had just accused him of being a murderer. Sure, he didn’t do it the way she would, but that doesn’t mean anything.

            This was too much to process. The Oliver that Barry and his friends saw just didn’t line up with the one she had seen. All she wanted to do was go see her friend, lie down, and eat, however not necessarily in that order.

 

            Kara landed in Star Labs soon after. She walked in to find Cisco working over a computer.

            Kara hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. Ultimately, she cleared her throat to announce her arrival.

            The sound made Cisco jump, and she winced in response as she said “Cisco! Hi!”

            “Kara! What are you doing here?” Cisco said, crossing the room and gathering her into a hug. He froze mid-hug, realizing that they didn’t know each other that well. Kara decided to hug him tighter in order to assure him that it was okay.

            Unfortunately, Kara squeezed a bit too hard and Cisco yelped.

            “Sorry! Sorry. Hi! I was hoping to find Barry! Is he around?”

            “First of all, ouch. I see how it is, no love for Cisco. And Barry is out, but I meant what are you doing on this earth?”

            “No, no, no! Cisco, I just needed to ask Barry’s opinion on something hero related. And I was going to ask a friend from this earth for a favor but it didn’t exactly go as planned.”

            “Well I don’t know if you have heard, but Vibe is kicking ass and getting pretty legit so technically I am a hero. And what did you need from Oliver?”

            “How did you know it was Oliver?”

            “Team Legends are who knows where in time, and Team Flash and Team Arrow are the only people you know on this earth.”

            Just as Cisco finished speaking, Barry sped into the lab, and started speaking before he came to a complete stop, “Yo! Cisco, heads up, I just got a call from—Oh hey Kara. Uh, what are you doing here girl?”

            Kara almost laughed at Barry’s sad attempt at being casual.

            “Let me guess, a call from Oliver?”

            “What? No,” he said, drawing out each word in a high pitched voice. “Fine. Yes.”

            “Thought so. Also hi,” Kara said, hugging Barry.

            “Hi! How are you, Kara? Why are you here?” Barry asked from the hug.

            “Ugh, it was mistake. I needed Oliver’s help training a friend. A human with no powers who wants to be a hero. But he wants to be a hero, not a vigilante,” Kara said, pulling away.

            “Kara, Oliver is a hero, even if he pretends otherwise. And he wants to talk to you—he wants to hear you out,” Barry saw the reluctance on Kara’s face, and said “at least come to dinner with Iris and me. Don’t go home yet, Oliver might be tough, but he is an expert trainer. Plus he can’t shoot you!”

            “Oh yeah, that’s a major bonus!” Kara said sarcastically. “Fine. I will come to dinner, but I am doing it for you and Iris, not for Oliver.”

            Barry beamed at Kara, and Kara couldn’t help but smile back. Whatever had happened earlier today, it was good to see her friend.


	3. Chapter 3

_Kara Danvers_

 

            Kara walked into Star Labs later that evening with Barry and Iris on either side of her. Her stomach was in knots. She had been thinking during dinner, and spoke with Barry on the way back to the lab. Iris’ company led to the night moving at a human’s pace. Kara was thankful for this normalcy. It gave her time to realize that she was wrong.

            She had fought alongside Oliver, yes, but she didn’t know anything about him.  Kara had no idea what had happened in his life, she didn’t know what led him to where he was now. She had drawn a conclusion, an extreme conclusion, based on assumptions with little foundation.

            Not only was Kara wrong about Oliver, but also Oliver was right about her. She had acted impulsively, and a kid’s life had been in danger because of it. Kara wasn’t used to embracing all of the facets of heroism-J’onn or Alex were usually the ones to case a place before she showed up to kick butt.

            Kara had come to the conclusion that she had been deflecting. She hadn’t been mad at Oliver, but herself for her carelessness. Oliver just had been there and had happened to rub her the wrong way.

            Ultimately, Kara was glad she had stayed; it gave her a chance to apologize and leave Earth-1 on good terms with Oliver. Even if she returned home having failed her self-appointed mission.

            Oliver was leaning against the main computer table, his arms crossed. His eyes were closed as he listened to Cisco droning on about potential updates to his costume. The sight of Oliver Queen at the verge of an outburst due to Cisco’s nerd-speak was enough to make Kara crack a smile.

            Kara decided to take pity on Oliver, and announced herself by clearing her throat. Cisco and Oliver turned towards her, Oliver’s hand instinctively reaching for an arrow from a quiver that wasn’t there.

            “Oliver,” Barry said by way of greeting, approaching his friend and giving him a hug that Oliver surprisingly reciprocated.

            “Hey Barry,” Oliver replied, smiling.

            “How are you? Felicity? And Thea? Team Arrow?”

            “Good, good. We are all doing well. And please, don’t call us Team Arrow.”

            Barry smiled, “Nah, I like it. Plus, Felicity asked me to use it so it would start catching on.”

            Oliver grinned to himself, “Of course she did,” he then turned to Iris. “Hey, Iris. I hope you’re doing well,” Oliver said, holding out a hand to shake hers.

            Iris completely ignored his hand, and went in to kiss Oliver’s cheek, impressing Kara with her brazenness.

            “I’m good Oliver. Really good, in fact.”

            Before Iris could even show Oliver her ring, Oliver smiled, saying, “I noticed. Congratulations, both of you. I hope you two find great happiness with each other.”

            Iris beamed at Oliver, but Kara noticed that Barry just smiled at him, somewhat sadly. Cisco seemed to notice as well, raising his eyebrows in confused exasperation, and turned back to his computer. Kara absently noticed that he had somehow gotten licorice out of nowhere.

            After a beat of semi-awkward silence, Kara said, “Would you guys mind if I spoke to Oliver?”

            “No, not at all!” Iris replied, with a look on her face that Kara couldn’t quite decipher.

            Oliver turned towards Kara and nodded, a kind, little smile on his face. He then gestured towards a room that Kara knew as the speed lab. He crossed towards the room, and held the door open for Kara. Looking at her feet and grinning, Kara walked through, and heard Oliver close the door behind them.

            Sighing, she turned around. She meant to say sorry, she really did, but what came out was, “Oliver, what happened to you ten years ago?”

            She really couldn’t follow her own plans today.

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            “Oliver, what happened to you ten years ago?”

            Oliver closed his eyes. That wasn’t what he expected. For a moment he debated internally whether or not he should share. He thought about the attack of the dominators. She had shared what happened to her planet, how her and her cousin were the only survivors. That knowledge had helped Oliver to understand Kara better, to understand what drove her. However uncomfortable it was, Oliver could tell her a summary of what happened.

            As he opened his eyes, he temporarily forgot to keep his mask on. Not the green leather mask, but the careless veneer he worked so hard to cultivate - the facade of unfeel that had so long protected him. He was sure that pain flashed on his eyes, and he could see the exact moment Kara noticed, because his least favorite facial expression showed up on her face: pity.

            Before Oliver could say anything, Kara quickly backtracked, “You know what? That was way over the line. Rao, I came in to apologize and I just sprung that on you! I’m sorry, it’s just you’re this crazy enigma wrapped in muscle wrapped in leather and I am just desperate to marry these two version of you, the one that Barry and Felicity and Dig see, and the one that you want them to see—“

            “Kara. Kara!” Oliver cut her off. “It’s okay. I can tell you.”

            “Really?”

            “Really. Forgive me if I don’t go into all of the gory details.”

            “No, no! Of course not. I just want to understand you.”

            “Okay,” Oliver sighed. This was… new. People didn’t really want to now why he was the way he was; they usually just wanted to hear his story out of morbid curiosity. It was interesting, and, for some reason, it made him want to tell her. He knew where to start; it just could be hard to actually begin.

            Kara, seeing his hesitancy, touched his arm in comfort and said, “Oliver, it’s okay.”

            Oliver looked down at her hand, and Kara’s gaze followed. She had placed it there without even thinking. Immediately, she pulled it back and into her chest, where her other hand cradled it. Oliver smiled at this. Her innocence was refreshing. It wasn’t every day he met someone who wasn’t tainted by the darkness of his city.

            “You know the White Canary?” Kara nodded. “Well, it started when we got on my father’s boat, the Queen’s Gambit together. Before you ask, yes we had a boat. We had a lot of things, and I was spoiled. Anyways, we were on the boat when the storm hit. The Gambit went down, and I had thought I had lost Sara. It wasn’t until later that I found out she lived. So it was my dad, a crewmember, and me on a raft. And, well, long story short, my dad made sure that I would have the best chance of survival. I ended up on an Island in the North China Sea called Lian Yu,” Oliver noticed Kara’s eyebrows knit in confusion.

            “Purgatory. It means Purgatory,” he replied to the unasked question. “The Island wasn’t as deserted as I had thought. The people there were… vicious, torturous. At least most of them, but Shado and Yao Fei are stories for another day. Maybe I’ll even tell you about Slade sometime.

            “I spent five years on that Island. Five years in hell, where I fought every day to survive. I fought every day to see my mom and my sister again. But the Island wasn’t as easy to escape as I thought it could be. It followed me home, in its own way. And it got my mom killed.  Now I keep on fighting every day, so that someone else can see their mom and sister again.

            “I have done horrible, unforgivable things, Kara. But I do it so others don’t have to, I do it to protect those I care about most, and to protect who can’t protect themselves or their families.”

            Oliver looked up to see that Kara had sat down, her hand to her mouth.

            “Kara it’s okay, I’m fine. I went to hell and back, which is surprisingly more common in my family than you would think, but I got back. I’m fine.”

            “Oliver, I know you’re okay. You are the strongest person I think I have ever met. You do these incredible things, with no reason. The world has taken so much from you, and yet you still protect the innocent. Rao, I was so wrong,” Kara said the last bit mostly to herself.

            “Oliver, you do have a darkness in you, but you don’t let it darken you. You use it to be a beacon of light. I’m so sorry for the things I said before—I was mad at myself for what had happened with the kid, and I took it out on you.”

            Oliver smiled at Kara, “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have lectured you. It’s not my place—I guess I am just used to it with all of my trainees.”

            “So we’re okay?”

            “Yes, Kara. We’re okay.”

            “Okay good, because I really hate it when people are mad at me. I get really nervous and I can’t focus on my work. And it would be even worse because you’d be a world a way!”

            “Actually, thirty eight worlds,” said a voice over the intercom.

            Kara and Oliver looked through the window into the main lab to see Barry, Iris, and Cisco listening to their conversation, with Cisco at the microphone.

            Upon seeing that he had been caught, Cisco raised his hands in the air, one of which still had licorice, saying “My bad!”

            Kara and Oliver turned back to each other, both with grins on their faces. Oliver suddenly looked at Kara, as he remembered that he still didn’t know why she was there.

            “Speaking of those thirty eight worlds, Kara why’d you come back? Is there some crisis on your earth?”

            “No, it’s stupid. I was just gonna ask you a favor, but it’s alright,” Kara said.

            “What was the favor?” Oliver replied.

            Kara sighed, “Well, my friend James Olsen has decided to become a hero. Actually it’s closer to a vigilante. He calls himself Guardian.”

            “Dumb name,” Cisco scoffed from the other room.

            Kara rolled her eyes and continued, “He doesn’t really have any training. He’s only armed with a suit and a can do attitude. I was hoping that the best human hero I know, my friend, the Green Arrow could whip him into shape,” Kara said with a playful punch to Oliver’s arm.

            Kara punched a bit hard, but Oliver allowed no pain to cross his face. No need to make her feel guilty, and Oliver had taken worse.

            “I’ll do it,” Oliver acquiesced before he knew what he was doing.

            “What?” Kara, Barry, and Cisco all exclaimed.

            “I’ll do it. I’ll help you, Kara, it’s the least I can do. I’ve just got to make a few calls, and talk to Felicity and Thea, but I will go with you to National City.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys! My name is Rebecca, and while this isn't my first fanfic, I havent written one in a while. My guess is that I definitely won't be posting as frequently in the future, but for new I am still in my new story flow. My friend Olivia will be editing, but I usually get excited and post before its been edited, and then go back and update it. Ultimately, I really wanted this story, because I think these two characters are so interesting together, and I didn't find many others, so I decided to fix it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and please let me know your thoughts!!


	4. Chapter 4

_Oliver Queen_

 

            Oliver tried to plan his explanation to Felicity and Thea as he travelled home. He wished he could take off his helmet; he loved the feeling of riding on his motorcycle without it. The wind going through his short hair, the feeling he could do anything, go anywhere, be anyone. But he couldn’t. he had commitments and responsibilities,  responsibilities that he was about to shirk to go off to another dimension.

            Kara had offered to fly Oliver back, barely containing a huge grin, but Oliver politely declined. He had wanted the clarity and solitude of his bike.

            There were times like this when Oliver inexplicably missed the island. He supposed it was something about the simplicity; it might have been hell, but at least life on the island had a clear goal, and defined villains.

            Oliver passed the “Welcome to Star City,” sign, and Oliver couldn’t help grimace at the lie of it. That sign told visitors that Star City was a happy, colorful hub of activity. While Oliver believed that the city could become that again, right now it presented itself much like the sign, a dream covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime. As mayor, it was Oliver’s job to clean it.

            Lately, Oliver had secretly begun to  believe that the job was bigger than him. He was starting to think he was superfluous. His team had become almost self-sufficient, and his city might be beyond saving. If this was the case, what was his role in Star City?

            He supposed this was one of the reasons he agreed to go to National City with Kara. He needed a break— some time to put his head on straight. A clear, easy task like training this “Guardian,” would present the perfect opportunity. Of course, when Oliver said easy, he meant an easy task for him.

            Oliver smiled at the hell he planned to unleash on James Olsen, but it quickly turned into a grimace. He once again had an image of the Green Arrow standing in front of a building with a sign saying “Vigilante Institute.”

            How had his one-man crusade to save a single city turned into this? It was baffling that he, Oliver Queen, billionaire playboy and reformed spoiled brat had not only saved the world once, but twice. It was a struggle for Oliver to keep in mind that he actually had helped. Being surround by super powers had a tendency of making Oliver’s fighting ability feel irrelevant. Yes, he was much more comfortable with the opposition in Star City. Here he fought human threats, threats that he could defeat.

            Oliver soon found himself pulling into his parking spot outside of the lair. Oliver really hated that title, it felt like a comic villains hideout. But it was better than the Arrowcave, and he had to call it something.

            Hopefully Thea was already there, Oliver thought as he pressed the secret button on the wall. He had texted both Felicity and Thea before he left Central City, in hopes to leave as soon as possible.

            He was pleased to see both Felicity and Thea sitting in the lair, talking to each other in hushed tones. They both looked to Oliver as he walked in, and Thea stood up.

            “Oliver? What’s going on? You sounded weird on the phone,” Thea said, walking towards him.

            “I’m going to be leaving town for a little while, Speedy.”

            “Okay, well how long is a little while?”

            “I don’t know yet. As long as I need.”

            “And where will you be going on this vacation of yours?”

            “National City. With Kara. She needs my help with something.”

            “Is she alright?” Thea said, worry in her voice.

            “Yes! Yes, she’s fine. She has a powerless friend she needs my help training.”

            “So you’re going to an alternate dimension, a different earth, to help train some wannabe hero?”

            Oliver felt his hand clench for a bow that wasn’t there. “No, I’m going to help a friend, who is worried about someone she cares about.”

            Thea nodded pensively, sitting back down, this time on the stairs.

            After a moment of quiet, Oliver looked to Felicity, “You have been uncharacteristically quiet.”

            “Well, what is there to say? Your mind seems made up,” Felicity answered, in an undecipherable tone of voice.  Oliver nodded in response, so Felicity continued, “And what about the rest of Team Arrow? And your job as the mayor?”

            “Well, the team has been pretty self-sufficient for a while now. Dig can lead them. As can you,” he said with a soft smile that only seemed to come out around Felicity.

            “And what if they’re not enough? What if we need the Arrow?”

            “Then I can help,” Thea said, standing up again. Oliver and Felicity both turned to her, shock on their faces.

            “Speedy, I thought you wanted out?’

            “I did. I mean, I do. But I can do this. I think getting out of town will be good for you, Ollie. And I can cover for you at work.”

            Oliver smiled at Thea thankfully. He would never stop being in awe and gratitude of his little sister.

            “Oliver, this is your operation. How do you expect to leave? You started this—”

            “And I left once before,” Oliver cut Felicity off. An expression that Oliver couldn’t read clouded her face as he continued, “And it turned out fine. I’m not leaving for good, just a little while. If an emergency comes up, I am just one trip to Central City and a dimension hop away.”

            “He calls it a vibe,” Felicity muttered.

            “I am not calling it that,” said Oliver stiffly. Felicity smiled at the familiarity of the moment.

            “Fine,” she took a deep breath. “I get it Oliver, I do. I’m just… gonna go tell the team. Have a safe trip.”

            With that, Felicity quickly left the cave. Oliver almost started after her, but Thea grabbed his arm before he could.

            “She just needs time to process, Ollie. You have to see what this looks like to her.”

            “What do you mean,” Oliver said, his eyebrows knitting together.

            “You said that you left before, right? Well the last time you left it was with Felicity. To live a normal life. With Felicity. You have to see how it looks for you to have used that as an example.”

            “Speedy, this is nothing like that, it was just an example!” Oliver said, becoming exasperated. Oliver supposed that he would always love Felicity, but it felt too far away now. Something felt different, and their dynamic had shifted.

            Thea sat down on the stairs, “And I know that! And Felicity does too. She just needs a minute.”

            Oliver sat next to her, looking at her with confusion. “Why are you so okay with me leaving?”

            “Because when I was having a hard time you let me go and sort it out. And you’re my brother. I’ve seen you struggling, Ollie. I think it’ll be good for you to get away from Star City. Do I wish that it was to the Bahamas you were going to as opposed to a different dimension? Of course. But as long as you’re happy,” Thea said, wrapping her arm through Oliver’s and leaning her head on his shoulder.

            “And…” She trailed off.

            “And what?” Oliver asked.

            “I think going anywhere with Supergirl might be the best thing for you.”

            “I don’t—“

            “No, hear me out. Ever since you were stranded on the island you’ve been plagued by this darkness you feel inside of you. Well, Kara has also been through impossible circumstances, and look at her. She practically glows! I think spending time with someone like that might help you.”

            “Speedy, I’m going to help her and her friend.”

            “I know that, Ollie, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be helped along the way,” Thea said with a small smile. Oliver didn’t know how to respond, so he just sat with his little sister, the last member of his family, and considered what she had said.

_Kara Zor-El_

 

            Kara could barely contain excitement as she waited for Oliver to return. She had gone on a rescue with Barry, and she had insisted on racing him back to Star Labs. They had tied, but Kara was pretty sure Barry had let it happen. Now, Kara was running on Barry’s super speed treadmill as Cisco and Barry watched.

            Impulsively, Kara turned at started running backwards, turning her head to smile and wave at Barry and Cisco, even though only Barry would be able to see it.

            Oh! Kara knew what she wanted. Before Cisco could blink, Kara had left and returned, this time with a box of donuts. She stepped back on the treadmill, eating and running for another five minutes. She then went to join Cisco and Barry, this time at a human pace.

            They both reached for a donut, only to find 3 left of the dozen Kara had gotten. They looked at her as she said “sorry,” with a  mouth full of donut and a huge smile on her face.

            She couldn’t help it, the grin hadn’t faded since Oliver left for Star City. Other than Barry, her sister and friends at home had never met anyone from this part of her life, and Kara was beginning to realize that it was more important to her than she realized.

            She had Kal, yes, but it was different. He had started so much earlier than she had, he felt like a supervisor or a seasoned veteran who gave her guidance. Clark was like her Obi-Wan! Or Yoda. But these people, her friends, were her equals. They were new, relatively untested. They had a lot of heart and a lot of gumption. Most hadn’t been doing this for more than a few years, and they were learning and adapting just like she was.

            She beamed at the word friend. Oliver had said yes, they had to be well on their way to becoming friends. Kara felt incredible. If she had been human, she might have said that she felt like she could fly.

            Kara was spinning in one of the lab’s chairs when Oliver returned, a worn green bag on his shoulder. He was in casual clothes, but had his quiver and bow on his back.

            He went straight to Barry once he entered. Kara could hear him say to Barry, “I will be back soon. If it feels like it’s taking too long, come check. And, Barry, I’m leaving a lot of people I care about—do you think,”

            Barry finished Oliver’s thought, “that I can check in every once and while? Of course Oliver. Now go and have a good time,” Barry said, clasping Oliver’s shoulder.

            Oliver smiled at Barry and turned to Kara, “You ready?”

            Kara’s beam returned, “Absolutely.”

            She took out the gadget that Cisco had given her, and opened a portal. “After you,” she gestured to Oliver. He grinned slightly, waved at Barry, and walked through the gateway.

            Kara gave Barry a hug, and followed after Oliver.

            As she stepped through the dizzying portal, she was greeted with something she probably should have expected.

            Oliver was standing in the middle of the DEO, with about seven agents surrounding him all with guns aimed at him, including Alex. Oliver, in turn, had his bow out and three arrows notched and ready to fire.

            What a great way to start this little experiment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey dudes,  
> so people have been asking about the timeline. So I am thinking this is somewhere in the most recent season of both shows, just a theoretical universe where everything worked out well.


	5. Chapter 5

_Oliver Queen_

            Oliver could win this fight. Him against seven government agents? No problem. That being said, He would likely take some hits, and his arm was still healing.

            A female brunette with short hair stepped forward, saying “Who are you and how did you get in here?” She was obviously the leader.

            Oliver ignored her, waiting for Kara. He had long since learned not to shoot first and ask questions later.

            The eight of them stood there, weapons aimed at each other for another 30 seconds until Kara finally stepped through the portal behind him.

            He didn’t dare turn away from the guns, so he just growled the gritted teeth, “Kara. Where am I? What did you—“

            Before he could finish his thought, the brunette leader interrupted him, “Supergirl!”

            “Alex!” Kara responded, rushing to the leader and sweeping her up in a hug.

            “Where the hell were you?” the leader, Alex said.

            “I just went to visit Barry for a few days. It’s no big deal.”

            “No big deal? Ka—Supergirl,” Alex corrected, with a suspicious look at Oliver. He made no acknowledgment of the look, so she continued, “you disappeared! No note or anything. You can’t do that to me!”

            “I’m sorry I worried you, I just had to ask a friend for a favor,” Kara said, grinning at the word friend. Her face suddenly went slack, “Please tell me you didn’t tell Eliza.”

            “Of course I didn’t tell mom. I was worried not suicidal. You know she’d blame me.”

            Oliver finally spoke up, “Mom? Is this your sister?”

            “Yes! Yes, this is my adoptive sister, Alex. Alex, this is my friend from Earth-1, Oliver Queen. Everyone, you can put your weapons down, he is here to help, and he knows who I am” Kara announced. Her hands were raised in a sign of innocence. Oliver lowered his bow, but didn’t put it away. The agents surrounding him, excluding Kara’s sister, all walked away, back to various workstations around the impressive headquarters.

            “Wait, Oliver Queen? As in the Green Arrow you met the last time you were there? How can he help us, he’s not an alien and he has no powers.”

            “Technically, Alex, the same could be said of you,” Kara reasoned.

            Oliver had officially had enough. “Kara, I will ask one more time. Where am I,” he said in a quiet voice laced with an unspoken threat.

            “Oh! Sorry, duh! Oliver Queen, welcome to the D.E.O! the Department of Extra normal Operations. I told you about it the first time I visited you. You know, I probably should have warned them we were coming. Anyways, this is where I work! And this is my sister, Alex!” Kara gushed.

            Oliver put his bow away, and stiffly extended a hand to Alex, who promptly ignored it and turned to Kara.

            “Kara, you have to tell us when you’re bringing strangers into the DEO. We could have hurt him.”

            Oliver gave the smallest of smirks, while Kara answered, “Yea, I don’t know about that. He doesn’t go down so easily.”

            Alex looked offended, “Kara, I’m a government trained official at a secret department that captures dangerous aliens. I’m an expert at marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and stick fighting. Not to mention, I’m pretty handy with a sword. I don’t think this guy with a bow and some pointy arrows could have beaten 7 DEO agents, or me.”

            Oliver and Kara exchanged looks. Kara was pleading to him with her eyes. He knew what she wanted him to do, but he had just met this woman, he had no reason to fight her, even just to prove a point.

            Kara jutted her bottom lip out, and almost skipped to his side. She grabbed his arm, and looked up from under her eyelashes.

            He couldn’t help but laugh, she was obviously going for some Disney innocent princess look, but she couldn’t quite get it right, and it turned into some sort of twisted, sad-clown looking expression.

            Oliver stayed strong for a few more beats, and then gave in, “Fine! Fine. Wow that face really needs some work.”

            “What? I thought I did pretty well.”

            Alex interjected, “I’m sorry, what is happening here?”

            Kara blinked, as though she had forgotten what she was even asking. She whirled around to look at Alex, grinning once again. “Oliver here has just agreed to spar with you”

            “Kara, he’s a civilian.”

            “No, he’s a hero.”

            Oliver involuntarily winced at the word hero. He hated that word, and he sure as hell didn’t feel like a hero. Kara had, luckily, been facing Alex when he winced and missed it, but Oliver saw Alex’s eyebrows rise in confusion as she marked it.

            “I’ll be fine, Alex. I know a little more than just how to shoot a bow and arrow,” Oliver said reassuringly.

            Alex hesitated a moment, and then nodded, consenting. She abruptly turned around, heading to a hallway off the side of the room.

            Oliver followed, and he could hear Kara following him. Based on her footsteps, she was practically hopping.

            Once again, Oliver found himself with a small smile on his face. Something about Kara’s unwavering excitement was contagious, and Oliver couldn’t help but notice that he had been smiling more these past two days than he had in a long time.

            Maybe Thea was right, maybe the influence of Kara’s excessive sunshine might be good for him.

            Oliver entered a room that Alex had just disappeared into, and found himself in what was obviously some sort of training facility. Oliver dropped his bag at the side of the room, placing his bow and quiver next to it.

            He saw Alex raise an eyebrow at his choice to abandon his bow and arrow, but he just shrugged, and joined Alex in the center of the room, noting Kara standing to the side.

            He looked at Alex, who was staring dubiously back at him.

            “Let’s begin.”

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            The fight was over before it ever really started. Oliver let it go on for longer than he could have, truly sparring with Alex before pinning her down.

And Alex, being the badass sister Kara adored, got some hits in as well. But the fight ended with Alex on the ground, and Oliver offering her a hand up.

A crowd had gathered at some point during the fight, and Winn had walked up to her side.

            “Uh, Kara? Hi, welcome back and all that, but, uh, who is that?” He stammered.

            Kara smiled, “that’s my friend from earth-1, Oliver!”

            “Oliver? Oliver as in Oliver Queen? The human super-hero who can compete with you and Barry?”

            Kara cut him off, “Okay, I mean he can’t compete with me, lets not get out of hand.”

            “Yes but he's the fighter? The one with the bow and arrows? Can I meet him? Oh my god, Kara,” Winn said, drawing out the second a in her name. He had grabbed Kara’s arm, and turned towards Oliver again. “Kara, he's coming over here. What do I do?”

            Kara couldn’t help but laugh while saying, “Winn he is just a person. Just… don’t do that thing you do with Clark, okay?”

            Winn looked offended, “I’m sorry, but Clark and I are well on the way to becoming best friends. BFFs.”

            Oliver reached them then, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion having heard the end of the conversation. He promptly ignored the comment, and turned to Kara. He looked as though he was about to speak, but Alex walked up a moment after Oliver, and looked to him.

            “That was incredible. Where did you learn to fight like that?” She asked.

            Kara tensed for a moment. She had asked a similar question almost 18 hours ago. But she had known Oliver, and she now knew some of the story of how Oliver learned to fight. It wasn’t a simple story, like Alex’s.

            But Oliver took the question in stride. He turned to Alex, and asked, “Do you have the League of Shadows on this earth?”

            Kara heard Winn quietly whimper the words “this earth” after Oliver spoke. Both Oliver and Alex ignored it.

            “The group of highly trained killers in that mountain range in Asia?”

            “So you do. It’s in Nanda Parbat. Well, I had a few teachers who taught me pretty thoroughly, but most recently I was trained to be the next Ra’s Al Ghul.”

            “I’ve heard of that. Isn’t the Ra’s Al Ghul a binding duty? How did you get out of it?

            Oliver sighed. “The previous Ra’s Al Ghul chose me as his heir, he forced me to leave the city I protected and the people I loved. I… played the part of heir well, and he taught me what he knew. His daughter, my wife and I killed him, and I passed my role onto her, who destroyed the roll of Ra’s Al Ghul.”

            Kara felt her gut drop, “I’m sorry, wife?”

            Kara saw Oliver sigh again and close his eyes. “It wasn’t a legal marriage,” he paused, and continued, “I think.”

            Well that wasn’t promising. A knot of confusion and something else settled in her stomach. When Oliver realized that she wasn’t going to say anything else, he turned to Winn and extended a hand.

            “Hi, I’m Oliver Queen.”

            Winn released another sound that sounded adorably like a puppy. When it became clear that he didn’t have the ability to form full words, Alex stepped in, and “This is Winn, our resident tech genius. He’s been helping James, the idiot who is trying to be a hero.”

            This got Winn to speak up for himself, “hey, hey, hey, I said no at first. And I didn’t let him go out into the field until I made him a kick ass supersuit.”    

            Kara noticed Oliver clenching his fist and releasing it. “To live this life, Winn, you need to be able to survive without a supersuit. And Kara showed me a picture of this suit you made—the helmet limits his peripheral vision, and makes it harder for him to hear. You cut off two of his senses that could be vital to his survival,” he turned to Kara, “is there somewhere I can put my bag, and then I’d like to meet James, but I have some ideas about our first encounter.”

            All Kara could do was nod and gestured Oliver out of the door. She turned to look at Winn and her sister before she left, and saw Winn gaping at Oliver’s retreating form, and Alex mouthing “oh my god,” to which Kara mouthed back “I know.”

            Kara was beginning to think she’d like having Oliver around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people wanted Ollie to kick the agents' butts, but its out of character! He wouldn't hit first ask questions later.


	6. Chapter 6

_Kara Zor-El_

 

            Kara once again noticed a dilemma too late, and gave a panicked answer as a result. Where would Oliver stay? She had left to show him where he could put his bag, and promptly realized that she didn’t know.

            Theoretically, Oliver could stay at the DEO. They had cots, and Kara was sure that Oliver wouldn’t complain. A cot was an indulgence compared to an island. However, everything Eliza had drilled into her during her time here on earth, and everything her biological parents had drilled into her before that, screamed that it was poor manners. Oliver was here doing Kara a favor, she couldn’t let him stay somewhere as cold as the DEO.

            She wished she had the forethought to reserve a hotel room, but when she decided to ask for Oliver’s help, she acted impulsively and just left. Now it would seem rude to get a hotel so last minute.

            Kara knew what she had to do, she knew what Eliza and her parents would want her to do. But the knowledge that she was doing what was right wasn’t going to make it any less awkward.

            “So, Oliver, you can stay at my apartment.”

            Oliver’s eyebrows raised slightly, the mask that she had begun to recognize slipping off of his face.

            “Kara, you don’t need to do that. I don’t want to impose-I was planning on either squatting in a warehouse or getting a hotel room. Although, now that I think about it, my credit card probably wont work here. I’m really okay with finding somewhere to stay, luxury means little to me.”

            “Oliver Queen. You are staying in my apartment, and you wont argue about it. I may come from another planet but I was raised right!”

            Oliver smiled at her firm hand, and her attempt to be stern. He nodded, “yes ma’am.”

            “Good. Great. Also, what’s your middle name? I think the next time I lecture you it will be more effective if I include your middle name in the scolding, don’t you?”

            “Nice try, but no. Also, do you intend on lecturing me a lot?”

            “Depends on your behavior.”

            As Kara and Oliver walked through the DEO in amicable silence, she idly wondered what J’onn would think of Oliver. She would find out soon enough, he was only scheduled to be gone on this mission for another day or two before returning. Still, she missed him. His presence was a constant, a reassurance, and she felt off balance without him.

Kara came to a stop at a balcony, and Oliver turned to her, confused.

            He asked her, “what are we doing here Kara?”

            She gave him her cheekiest grin, “flying!”

            “No. I don’t fly, not like this.”

            “Well, you don’t have a choice. I don’t drive here, and neither Supergirl or Kara Danvers can be seen exiting this building on foot. So, we fly!” On the word fly, Kara grabbed Oliver by the arms and took off. He fought for a moment, but quickly stopped when Kara assumed he realized his resistance was futile.

            There was that feeling—the wind in her hair, the endlessness of the sky. The liberty and possibilities and realization that she could do anything if she wanted to, go anywhere, escape the world she knew. The knowledge that she had that possibility, but chose to stay where she was needed was empowering. It dictated what kind of person she was, and she was proud of that.

            Kara looked down to make sure Oliver wasn’t getting nauseous, as many people had a tendency to do (she made a conscious choice to forget the one and only time she flew with Winn, and the outfit that she had to burn as a result). Oliver once again surprised her when she found him with his eyes closed, and the most relaxed smile she had ever seen on him covering his face. He looked absolutely serene here, free. Kara didn’t think his face was capable of looking that way, and it brought a smile to her face.

            His presence was calming in a way, his serenity infectious. His logic and stillness soothed the thousands of thoughts that were constantly zooming and pinging around in her head. It was an interesting side effect of spending time with Oliver.

            She reached her apartment a few moments later, and flew in through the window that she kept open at all times.

            The open windows and natural light all combatted the claustrophobia she had. She loved her apartment—she felt most comfortable here, and it was somewhat exhilarating showing Oliver where she was most comfortable, like, to be dramatic, bearing a piece of her soul.

            Oliver looked startled as she put him down, and she could hear his heart rate elevating, maybe from the shock.

            “So… this is my house,” she smiled awkwardly, gesturing to the room around her.

            Oliver took it all in stoically, as usual. It looked to Kara as though he was mentally plotting every inch of the apartment, planning potential escape routes and advantages to it. Knowing Oliver, it was likely that he was doing exactly that.

            He turned to Kara, saying “You have a great apartment. Its beautifully… open.”

            At this Kara frowned, turning towards the open window. His words had almost matched her thoughts exactly. But staying that an apartment was open could mean many things. She shook off those thoughts, and turned back to Oliver, “The bed is all yours. I am more than happy on the couch.”

            “Not a chance. You are already letting me stay in your apartment, no way I’m taking the bed.”

            Kara smiled, putting up her fists jokingly, saying “fight you for it!”

            Oliver smiled back, but it was half hearted, “speaking of which. Is there any way that you can get your powers taken from you? I know there is the meteor rock that hurts you, and the sun gives you power, but is there something that would make you mortal, or human for the day?”

            Kara knitted her eyebrows. “I don’t know. I mean I don’t have powers under the red sun, and we get yellow sun lamps. I supposed we could reverse manufacture them and create red sun lamps. Why?”

            Oliver smiled, “Because James isn’t the only one I’m going to train. You need to learn how to fight and protect yourself, even when you’re not at the advantage of having powers.”

            Kara scoffed and raised her hand up in a ‘stop’ position, “Um, I think I can protect myself pretty well on my own.”

            Raising one eyebrow, Oliver responded, “prove it. Have that tech genius, Winn, see if he can make one of those lamps, and then fight me.”

            Kara hesitated, she was well aware of what Oliver could do. He had just proven it with Alex, but she wasn’t one to turn away from a challenge….

            Oliver settled into an unsettling smile, one Kara had only seen him use with his trainees. “What? Are you scared, Kara?”

            Determination settled in Kara’s gut. That settled it, “not even a little bit. I’ll call Winn right now.”

            She took out her phone, her confident smile slipping from her face. She was absolutely in over her head.

           

_Oliver Queen_

            Oliver couldn’t help but smile as Kara turned away to call her friend. He knew Winn would do it, because there had obviously been some unresolved feelings there on his part. He hadn’t thought he had seen anything on her end, but he couldn’t be sure. And he was always sure about these things, except when it came to himself. His feelings were always maddeningly indecipherable.

            Looking towards the huge window in Kara’s apartment, Oliver sighed contentedly, putting his hands in his pockets. He really did love this apartment. While he could tolerate dark enclosed spaces, like the lair, he much preferred space with natural light. His theory on why was that the dark reminded him too much of his time trapped on the ship at Lian Yu, the Amazo, and the light reminded him of his relief of being back on the island, having some sort of freedom, even if it was just from a dark and dank ship.

            Shaking the dark thoughts from his head, he turned back around and put his bag on the floor next to the couch. He sat down and took out his phone, wishing he could talk to Dig or Felicity. He was so used to their presence, and he wished were able to create a training plan with them, go on a mission, or even just go to Big Belly Burger. But he was doing the right thing, even if it meant he was separated from them. But being separated was a feeling he was familiar with, something he was numb to.

            Oliver put his phone back in his pocket as Kara reentered the room. Upon seeing Oliver on the couch, she shook her head, saying “nuh uh, get up.”

            “Kara, my parents raised me right as well. Well, mostly. But there is no way I’m taking your bed.”

            “I don’t bend that easily.”

            “Well neither do I.”

            The two stubborn willed heroes stared each other down for almost a minute, until Oliver finally proposed a compromise, “how about this. You take the bed, and I tell you my middle name. for the next you need to lecture me.”

            “Do you see me needing to lecture you again.”

            “Once I start working with James? Most likely.”

            Kara considered this for a few moments, finally saying “fine. What is it?” Her excitement was beginning to pique.

            Oliver sighed, clenching and unclenching his hand. He could let go of this control. “Jonas.”

            “Jonas? Like the brothers? That is so cute! Oh I will so take the bed for that,” Kara giggled,

            Oliver was absolutely going to regret telling her this, but he once again found himself smiling at her joy over something as simple as his middle name.


	7. Chapter 7

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara was anxious. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet in the elevator at CatCo. When the elevator stopped, Kara exited, pausing a moment to adjust her glasses.

            She walked towards James’ office, hesitance in every step.

            And then she saw him. James had a bruise on his neck, a cut on his cheek, and a split lip.

            Kara felt her eyes narrow as she approached his office. He looked up at her briefly, returning to his work, and then did a double take. She supposed this was because she hadn’t spoken to him since he told her that he was Guardian.

            She quickly plastered on a grin, one that she didn’t quite have to fake, due to the knowledge of what was to come.

            James stood quickly, saying “Kara! I’ve been calling you. Are you okay?”

            “Yep, I just needed some time to think about things. I went out of town for a bit, visited some friends. That kind of thing.”

            “Okay… who did you see?”

            “Oh, you wouldn’t know them. And that’s not important, I want to talk about you. And The Guardian.”

            Jimmy chuckled goodheartedly, looking down for a moment. “It’s not the Guardian, its just Guardian. But I’m glad you finally want to talk! I really hope you can get behind this. I have just been on the sidelines for so long, and I can’t sit, watching action from behind a camera when I know that I could be helping someone, or saving a life. Knowing you, knowing Clark, that is what inspired me to do this. I can be more than just James Olsen, the guy with the first picture of Superman.”

            Kara’s thoughts slowed. The way he spoke about being a hero, about helping people—that was what had inspired her. Before she became Supergirl, she had gotten to a point where it was driving her mad to just be Cat Grant’s assistant, trapped in the small job, unable to do or be more. Maybe James felt that way as well, more or less.

            For a moment, Kara began to doubt whether or not she wanted Oliver training James. It felt too extreme. And that was when Kara realized what she had been doing. She hadn’t entirely wanted Oliver to train James, she had wanted Oliver to make James want to quit, and that wasn’t fair to James.

            But whatever the result, James needed Oliver, so the determination settled in her stomach.

            Kara answered, earnestly, “I understand, James. I really do. The way you felt, that’s the way I felt before I became Supergirl. It’s infuriating to have to watch the atrocities of the world, and not be able to do anything about it. So I have a proposition—tonight, lets get drinks at the bar. In celebration of Guardian.”

            James looked thrilled, albeit a little shocked. “Absolutely! Kara, thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been able to support this. Your opinion means a lot to me.”

            And yet it didn’t mean enough to tell her before he put on the suit. Kara gave him one of her too-sweet smiles, and told him “see you at eight,” before exiting the office.

 

            As she rode the elevator again later that day, she was once again bouncing on the balls of her feet, but this time from excitement. She found herself excited to see Oliver fight again. There was something beautiful about his fighting style. Kara found fighting to be almost like dancing, the symmetry, the give and take of the partners, and Oliver was the best dancer.

            Not that she’d ever admit it, but maybe she could learn something from him.

            She had no idea how Oliver had occupied himself while she was at work. She assumed that he was staking out some sort of warehouse to fight James in, or maybe he was just patrolling.

            When she got home, she found Oliver reading on his makeshift bed. He put his book down and stood as she entered.

            “How’d it go?” Oliver asked by way of greeting.

            “I’ve had a great day, thanks for asking. And it went well on multiple fronts; I think I have a better understanding of why he wants to do this, which helps me. And he agreed to meet me tonight.”

            Oliver smiled, “I’m glad you’ve had a good day. Now, tell me, why does he want to be a hero.”

            Sighing, Kara sat down, Oliver following suit. “He says that he can’t sit back and watch people get hurt. Which I get, its why I became a hero. But I had all of these abilities that made me well suited to do this. Barry had super speed. You… well you’re you! James is just a man.”

            “While his reasons might be noble, diving into this life while being unprepared could result in more people getting hurt. And I have to remind you that I’m just a man too. And Kara, you’re just a woman.”

            Kara snorted, “Oliver, I’m from a planet that is light years away, I can lift a bus, I have impenetrable skin, and I can fly. I am by no definition ‘just a woman’”

            Oliver chuckled, “You misunderstand. I know you’re not human, but underneath all of these things you can do, you’re just a person. With feelings and wants and needs and vulnerabilities, just like everyone else. Granted, those vulnerabilities might be less physical, they’re still there. You are still a person, even with everything you can do.”

            Kara met Oliver’s eyes. No one had ever seen her that way before. No matter where she went, she felt like an alien. Even with Clark, it was different. He had grown up on earth, had two real parents who raised him from birth. He still had someone he called mom. She always felt separate from the rest of the world, the world that she had chosen to protect.

            It was interesting of Oliver, of all people, saw past that alien title that seemed to be branded across her forehead.

Kara suddenly noticed how close Oliver and her were sitting.

            She stood up suddenly, very confused by what had just happened. “So, um, thanks for that. I need to get some, um, groceries!” Kara grabbed her keys off of the table by the door, grabbed her coat and ran out the door, shouting a hasty “see you at the warehouse! I’ll find you!”

 

_Oliver Queen_

            What the hell had happened?

            This question had been rolling around Oliver’s mind since Kara left the apartment at six. It was now eight, and Oliver was back in his hood. He sat crouched on a rooftop a few blocks away from the bar. The Alien Bar. Because there are aliens all around this world. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

            He would have to tell Dig about it when he got back—he couldn’t even fathom the reaction it would induce.

            James Olsen was running late.

            While normally Oliver showed a remarkable amount of patience, he was particularly short tempered this evening. James’ tardiness left annoying amounts of time for Oliver to pour over what line he had crossed with Kara that afternoon. He had clearly done something, he just didn’t know what.

            Maybe she was desperately offended at being compared to a human. But Oliver couldn’t see that being it, Kara had shown the utmost respect for humans.

            The only explanation Oliver could come up with was that maybe she just didn’t want to be that open with Oliver. That was understandable. She was pure light and goodness, and Oliver was the opposite. He tainted everyone he touched. He had gotten Tommy and Laurel killed, lead Dig into a situation where he had to kill his brother, and all but drove Felicity into joining Helix. He understood if Kara wanted to keep a distance from that darkness, he had just assumed that he could be open with her. He would have to be sure not to make that mistake again.

            Oliver once again scanned the street for the man matching the picture that Kara had shown him. But, unlike the last few times, Oliver found James. He held back for a moment, analyzing James’ movements. He could tell from here that James hadn’t once scanned for any potential threats in the alley. He was oblivious to what was happening around him. It seemed that he completely separated Guardian from James, an impressive ability that could easily mean the end of his short career as a vigilante.

            Oliver silently removed a grappling arrow from his quiver. Before any human could blink, Oliver was on the ground behind James.

            Still moving silently, Oliver approached James, and swiftly swung his leg up, hitting James just below the jaw in a tight kick. Impressively, James stayed up, but that was quickly rectified by a quick punch to the temple, knocking him out.

 

            Oliver arrived at the abandoned warehouse about 10 minutes later, James slung over his shoulder. Oliver had administered a sedative after knocking James out, assuring that he would remain unconscious for as long as necessary.

            Using a technique taught to him by Slade Wilson on the Island, Oliver tied James up with knots that were almost impossible to break out of.

            As Oliver stood up and stepped back, waiting for his student to wake, he recognized Kara’s presence enter the warehouse. He looked up, and saw her settle herself onto one of the walkways half up the wall.

            He was about to speak, when James groaned from his seat.

            Before he could fully come to his senses, Oliver aimed an arrow directly at his eye. If Kara had an issue with this, she didn’t speak up.

            Slowly, James opened his eyes and looked up at the Green Arrow, “What… what the hell is going on? Who are you? Oh you so picked the wrong—“

            In a booming voice, Oliver cut him off. He could hear Kara flying to a hover behind him as he said, “James Olsen. You have failed this city.”


	8. Chapter 8

_Oliver Queen_

            “Kara? What the hell is going on?”

            “You don’t talk to her, you talk to me,” Oliver roared.

            “No, Kara, explain to me what is happening!”

            “You’ve failed this city, James,” Kara answered. “By going into the field untrained, you are putting people at danger, people that it’s my job to protect. So if you insist on going through with this plan, you’ll need a teacher.”

            “And, what? Robin Hood is going to teach me?”

            “Oh, James… I really wouldn’t underestimate him.”

            “Why?” James taunted. “What’s he going to do?”

            “James, Alex wants the Green Arrow to teach her some moves.”

            At this, James was finally quiet. Oliver assumed that James new of Alex’s skills. Good.

            Oliver took the opportunity to speak again. “First, you will break out of your restraints.”

            “C’mon. This is your idea of training?” James began to struggle against the ropes, confidently at first. Once he realized the little effect he was having, his smile slipped.

            “If it’s so easy, I expect you to be out of them by the time we get back,” Oliver said, turning away from James.

            “Get back? The hell are you talking about? You can’t just leave me here?”

            Oliver didn’t look back. “Watch me.”

            Oliver noticed Kara not immediately following him. He didn’t stop to wait.

            Oliver continued walking outside of the warehouse—he could hear a muffled conversation between Kara and James occurring inside.

            Before he reached the street corner, Kara seemingly materialized in front of him.

            He didn’t think he would ever get used to that.

            “Oliver, are you sure about this,” Kara asked, eyes wide and doughy.

            “Yes.”

            He continued walking.

            He could hear Kara sighing behind him. Suddenly she grabbed his arm, forcefully whirling him around.

            “Oliver, I need more than yes. Explain to me what you’re doing and why.

I want to understand.”

Oliver sighed, closing his eyes. He found himself clenching his fist yet again, except this time his bow was actually in hand. It was a comfort, something familiar that grounded him.

            Opening his eyes, he answered “right now, James is overconfident. He knows heroes who are impenetrable, like you. He doesn’t see himself as vulnerable, or able to be defeated, and that is an issue. What humans have to realize is that you must know your strengths and weaknesses, and James wont be open to acknowledging his weaknesses until he realizes that he is human, and can be defeated by other humans.”

            “Did you learn that on the island?”

            “Yes. Very quickly. Defeat is necessary to improvement.”

            “Alright then. What now?

            Oliver was shocked. He didn’t think Kara would support him over her friend that quickly, so he said as much. “That’s it? No Oliver Jonas Queen?”

            “Oliver, I trust you. I asked you for help knowing who you are. So I repeat, what now?”

            Oliver gave a small smiled in surprise. This was another thing he hadn’t expected. He had never been given trust so easily. He was so used to people seeing the worst in the Arrow, it was refreshing to have someone believe that he knew what he was doing.

            But her sudden confidence in him just confused him more. What a complete 180 from earlier this afternoon. Kara was proving to be more enigmatic than he could have previously imagined.

He finally answered “do you have Big Belly Burger on this earth?”

            Kara grinned back.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara and Oliver sat facing each other cross-legged on the roof of the warehouse. Kara had made the drive through at Big Belly Burger into a fly through, and picked them up food. She was keeping an ear on James’ progress, which was minimal.

            They had been talking sporadically, Oliver always keeping up his carefully constructed wall, the wall she had seen past earlier today. They had talked about Alex and Thea, Team Flash, Team Supergirl, and Team Arrow, although Oliver had refused to call it that.

            Oliver hadn’t volunteered any more information about the Island, and Kara suppressed her reporter instincts to prompt answers. Instead, she stuck to conversation topics she thought he would be comfortable with.

            Despite his walls, Kara had picked up on a few things. Oliver had a very good friend named Tommy who appeared in many of his stories, something had gone on between Oliver and Felicity, and Kara was starting to guess that he had gone to more places than just Lian Yu during his missing years. Kara once again didn’t ask for further information, hoping that Oliver would share with her when she was comfortable.

            After a particularly long beat of silence, Oliver looked up and stared at the sky, and said “tell me about your planet.”

            This had not been what Kara was expecting. Only Alex really knew about Krypton, most other people were too uncomfortable to ask, thinking it would hurt Kara too much to talk about it.

            The fact was, however, that Kara felt the exact opposite way. When she spoke about Krypton, it felt more real, the more she talked about it, the more she remembered.

            “Krypton was about two thousand light years away. It would have been right about,” she motioned with her finger, “there. We were a planet of scholars and scientists. We thrived on culture and intelligence and learning. It was almost a utopia. Of course, it was too good to be true. The planet had an unstable radioactive core, and it blew up. My parents and my Aunt and Uncle only just managed to get my cousin and me out. But before that, Oliver there were these beautiful landscapes that could go on for miles. I have literally searched this world, and haven’t been able to find anything like it.

            “There was a place called the Fire Falls, and there is a fissure in the planet, and the fire at the center of Krypton pours through, it’s gorgeous. Oh! And the Gold Volcano, its pretty self-explanatory, but it’s a volcano that spews this beautiful molten gold. I always loved the Jewel Mountains, which are these huge, colorful gem formations. I was only thirteen when I left, and there were plenty of places my parents deemed were too dangerous to go. But I had always wanted to.”

            Kara found her mouth dry from talking. She took a sip of her drink, and turned back to look at Oliver. He was staring at her, absorbing her words with an odd look on his face.

            Unsure of what to do, Kara just said, “James is still having no luck. He’s calling you some pretty awful things.”

            Oliver seemed thankful for this attempt at normalcy. “I’m sure I’ve been called worse.”

            Kara paused. She didn’t like that. She was beginning to understand why Felicity and Dig responded the way they did when she first saw them in the Arrowcave. Oliver had enough assumptions and hate being thrown at him, and he took it. Oliver accepted this criticism and vitriol so that no one else had to. It suddenly seemed very important that he knew that the opinions of those ignorant people weren’t true. Kara supposed that included her first thought of Oliver upon seeing him again.

            “Oliver,” Kara began, “You know that you aren’t any of those awful things, right?”

            Oliver scoffed. “You sound like Felicity and Dig.”

            “Well they’re right! You cant let the negativity of others get to you, you have to—wait.”

            Oliver sat up immediately, “what?”

            There was someone down in the warehouse. Someone other than James. James had begun to struggle more. “Oliver, someone’s down there.”

            Oliver stood up, bow in hand. Kara followed suit, ready to jump into action.

            She was getting ready to fly when Oliver stopped her.

            “What are you doing?” She asked.

            “I need to do this alone. I need to show James that I am capable, and that I know what I’m doing.”

            “Oliver, don’t be stupid. You’re not on your earth, that could be an alien.”

            “I know, but you said you trust me with James, and I need you to trust me with this. I can handle whatever is down there, but if you step in, James will lose all respect for me as a teacher. You need to promise me you wont interfere.”

            “Oliver...”

            “Kara, trust me.”

            Kara hesitated, chewing at her bottom lip. After a few moments, she consented. “Fine. But if something happens and you need my help, you promise that.”

            “Fine, I’ll let you know.”

            Without another word, Oliver tucked his knees into his chest, and jumped down to save Kara’s friend, and Kara was once again stuck doing nothing.


	9. Chapter 9

_Kara Zor-El_

Kara was pacing. She always paced when she was nervous. She was always nervous when she wasn’t in control, and didn’t have all of the information.

            Kara continued to strain her ears, listening to everything that was happening below her. She had stopped using her x-ray vision, because while Oliver was easy to discern with his bow and arrow, Kara could determine who was James and who was the intruder. The intruder looked human based on his skeleton, but it could be hard to tell.

            The sound of fists hitting skin and arrows being released sang in the silent night.

            Suddenly, Kara heard Oliver growl “Who are you?”

            “Who am I? Who are you?” The intruder replied.

            “Answer the question!”

            “I’m J’onn J’onzz.” Kara’s eyes widened, but as she leapt off of the roof and flew down to warehouse, J’onn continued speaking. “I run a government operation that fights against threats in this city. So I reiterate, who are you?”

            Kara could see them now. Oliver began to lower his bow at this, “you’re part of the DEO?”

            J’onn advanced slowly towards Oliver. “How do you know about the DEO? I will ask once more, and I would recommend answering: who are you?”

            “J’onn stop! This is the Green Arrow, from Earth-2! I invited him!” Kara interjected, landing between Oliver and J’onn.

            “Supergirl? You know this vigilante? He had kidnapped James!” J’onn said incredulously, his attention turning to her.

            Now that she was closer to the action, she could see that Oliver had a split lip from the fight. But, surprisingly, J’onn also had quite a few bumps and bruises.

            Kara turned back to J’onn, saying “I know! He’s doing me a favor. He’s training James.” At this, she suddenly remembered James’ presence, and she turned on him. “Why didn’t you tell J’onn that the Green Arrow was alright? That he’s my friend?”

            James just sat there, slack-jawed. He was staring at Oliver.

            Kara cautiously approached James, squatting in front of him when she was close enough. “James? Are you okay?”

            “He… he just fought the Martian Manhunter? And he... how… you, you didn’t lose?”

            “That’s a common occurrence with me,” Oliver said in a smug voice Kara hadn’t heard before.

            “And you’re human?” James sputtered.

            “Yes.”

            “That’s why I wanted him to train you, James. Oliver knows what he’s doing, he’s the best.”

            As Kara looked at Oliver, he took off his hood. Under the green leather, she saw a strange look on his face. “I guess there’s no need for a secret identity in a parallel universe,” Oliver said.

            Kara felt her eyes widen, “Sorry!”

            Oliver gave her a reassuring smile, saying “its okay.”

            They looked at each other for a moment, until J’onn cut in, “sorry for interrupting. I was flying back to the DEO when I heard James’ very angry thoughts. Who exactly is the Green Arrow, and why do you trust him to know about the DEO?”

            Kara turned back to J’onn, feeling somewhat off balance. “This is Oliver Queen, from Earth-2. I met him when I went to help fight the Dominators in November. He’s human, and can hold his own against most super powered people, and due to our misguided, yet well intentioned James deciding to save lives, I asked him to come and train him.”

            J’onn nodded, pivoting back to Oliver, and shifted into his Green Martian form. He extended a hand, saying “J’onn J’onzz, the last son of Mars, and the head of the DEO. “

            Oliver’s already impossibly straight stature seemed to straighten even further. He switched his bow from his right hand to his left, and grabbed J’onn’s extended hand. “Oliver Queen, Mayor of Star City, and the Green Arrow by night.”

            “I don’t trust you, but I trust Kara. Don’t let her be wrong about you.”

Oliver nodded, stiffly, before walking over to James and pulling out a flechette to untie him.

            Kara, somewhat impulsively, flew into J’onn, giving him a hug. “You’re back early! I missed you.”

            J’onn chuckled deeply, returning the hug. “I missed you too, and I finished early. How is it that I’m gone two weeks, and you run away to another earth?”

            “I didn’t run away! I took a weekend trip,” Kara replied, defiantly.

           “And brought back a souvenir, apparently.”

            “I trust him, J’onn. He’s a hero.”

            J’onn just sighed in response, saying “I hope you’re right, Kara.”

            Oliver and James rejoined them, chatting politely.

            Kara turned to Oliver, and asked “what now?”

            Oliver seemed to be avoiding her gaze, as he answered, “Now we train. Starting tomorrow at 5:30 AM, James will meet me here every morning. We will work until 9:00 AM, and resume at 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM. When Winn figures out the red sun lamp, you will join him.”

            Something in Oliver’s demeanor had changed. Now, not only were his walls back up, but any casual behavior was gone. Perhaps something had happened, or perhaps this was just who he was when he was training people.

            Either way, Kara decided to lighten the mood by raising her hand in a salute, and saying “sir, yes sir!”

            J’onn rolled his eyes in exasperation, and James smiled at her, despite what she had helped put him through this evening. She was glad he didn’t seem to be angry.

            Oliver, however, just gave a forced smile. Something had shifted. Despite having just taken control of the room, he seemed suddenly uncomfortable, unsure of himself.

            So, Kara took charge. “Game night at my place?” She asked to J’onn and James.

            Oliver looked startled. Kara ignored it as James said, “sure. I’ll tell Winn, J’onn you tell Alex?”

            J’onn nodded, “we will need to debrief about the mission first, so we might be a little late.”

            “Good!” Kara replied. “That will give me time to get some pot stickers!”

            Winn and J’onn continued the conversation, and Kara gradually withdrew from it. Her attention moved to Oliver. He had taken a few steps back, and was now closer to the shadows at the walls of the Warehouse.

            Kara saw his arm twitch towards his bow, as though about to grab an arrow. She made a guess as to which arrow he would go for, and sped towards him, catching his forearm.

            He spun to her, “what are you doing, Kara?”

            “Stopping you from stopping yourself from having a good time.”

            “I’m an intruder in this group you have, I don’t want to impose.”

            “Oliver! I invited you here. Of course you aren’t imposing. I want you to meet my friends and my sister, as more than just the guy who is training James!”

            Oliver shifted his weight awkwardly.

            Kara sighed. There was something disconnecting in his head, and she didn’t know how to let him know that he was wanted, and not a nuisance.

            After weighing her words for a moment, Kara said, “Oliver. I was lost, asleep, floating in the Phantom Zone for 24 years. I missed 24 years of opportunity. I slept while my family died, while my cousin grew up without me. But if I hadn’t slept for those 24 years, I wouldn’t have landed when I did, and I wouldn’t know Alex, or James, or Winn, or J’onn. It’s like they were waiting for me. And I’m living! I have a life on an entirely different planet, because I woke up, and I’m living now. So you can either float in space alone for the rest of your life, or you can live now with the people that care for you, the people who will wait for you. It’s up to you.”

            With that, Kara walked away, content with her efforts to reach out to Oliver, and hoping they were effective.

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            Oliver Queen was perched on top of a random building in National City, angled so he could see a billboard for some lawyer in the distance. He was releasing arrow after arrow into the ‘a’ in the word lawyer.

            Unsurprisingly, he hadn’t missed.

            More than just being his weapon of choice, archery helped Oliver to clear his head. Archery was simple, he didn’t have to think about it, so when he felt overwhelmed, he returned to that simplicity.

            Although, if he were being honest, Oliver preferred running. However he was pretty partial to running through a forest or trees, running in cities didn’t give him the same feeling. He supposed it had something to do with the Island. Running gave him the same freedom that riding his motorcycle did, except he had more control. And control was what Oliver needed the most. He had no control over his life for five years. He was tortured, used, carted from place to place like he was an object. And now he craved the control that he had once lost.

            But for now, the archery was helping. It gave him time to think about what Kara had said. Her points did have merit, he did have a habit of not living life to the fullest. But each time he had tried, something had gone wrong. There is always another foe, always another loved one who can be lost.

            He hadn’t realized until now, but that seeming inevitability had made Oliver stop trying. Oliver wanted a real life, and real friends who he didn’t just meet in an underground bunker. There was always that barrier of leader to student between Oliver and the new recruits, and of course he had his history with Felicity, making it hard to be just friends, and Dig had a family, who understandably came first. Maybe he could use some casual friends, friends like Kara was offering.

            Oliver released another arrow, and he saw it land almost directly on top of the previous one. With that arrow, Oliver released a breath, and some of the tension he had been holding. Albeit not all of the tension, because even the arrows weren’t miracle workers, but enough that he felt more comfortable, more balanced. Oliver lowered his bow, and checked his watch. If he hurried, he could make it to Kara’s before J’onn and Alex.

            He grimaced at the thought of playing board games all night, but he supposed he could deal with it for the company. Oliver quickly descended from the roof, and ducked into a dark ally to change. He stepped out a moment later, his dark jeans and black waffle knit shirt replacing the green leather.

            He hurried towards Kara’s apartment, and knocked on the door tentatively after arriving.

            Kara swung open the door, looking behind her and laughing at something Winn had said. She was saying “Alex, what took you—“ when she realized it was Oliver.

            Her mid-laugh smile was replaced by a satisfied one, as she simply said “you came.”

            “A good friend rattled off a pretty convincing speech to get me here,” Oliver replied, returning the smile.

            They smiled at each other for a moment, Oliver standing awkwardly outside of the doorframe. He gave a fake cough and pointed look towards the inside of the house, prompting an invite.

            Kara’s eyes widened, “oh, sorry! Come in! Welcome! You know Winn and James!”

            Winn gave a weak wave, and a meek “hey,” in response, while James stood up.

            James squared his shoulders, and surprised Oliver by saying “thank you. For agreeing to help me. Based on what Kara said, you’re the best teacher I could ask for. Just… please don’t shoot me in the legs?”

            Oliver chuckled, “I’m happy to help. And don’t give me a reason to.”

            Just then, Alex and J’onn entered the room, and headed straight to Kara. J’onn said quietly to her, “we need to talk.”

            Kara nodded seriously, and looked to Oliver. He bobbed his head in understanding, and went into the hall, leaving Oliver to talk to James and Winn.

            Oliver absently wished that he had asked Kara what they liked to talk about, as the awkwardness set in between the three of them.


	10. Chapter 10

_Oliver Queen_

            A week or two later, Oliver was on Kara’s couch, seated stiffly between J’onn and Winn. Winn had been staring at him on and off since he had arrived, and Oliver was expertly ignoring it.

            James was in a chair next to the couch, and Kara was seated with her sister on the floor. Alex’s girlfriend, Maggie, was settled around the corner of the table next to Alex, their knees touching. The four of them were facing the game board in the center. Apparently game night was a common occurrence.

            Oliver had been training James for about 10 days, and Oliver was relatively impressed. He had proven to be a diligent student, albeit a little whiny. Alex had joined them twice, and Winn had been working on the red sun lamps. Not much else had happened—National City had been pretty quiet on the crime front, and Oliver was usually so tired by the end of the day that they would eat and both go to bed.

            But tonight, Kara had chosen to play Candy Land, a game that Oliver hadn’t played since he was young. Candy Land had been Laurel, Tommy, and Oliver’s game of choice when they were kids. Well, when Oliver and Tommy weren’t making trouble, that is. Thea also joined occasionally, when Oliver and Tommy were feeling particularly magnanimous. Despite his discomfort from sitting between J’onn and Winn, Oliver found himself with a small smile on his face. The familiarity of the game reminded him of home. He felt relaxed here, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

            Kara had seemed distracted since her conversation with J’onn. The conversation had obviously been serious.

            Oliver had been hanging back for the most part, allowing the natural rhythm of the group he had joined fall into place.

            He was beginning to pick up on the dynamics of the friend group. The most obvious was that J’onn was the father figure, mostly to Alex and Kara, but he acted paternally around the rest, as well, although he remained wary of Oliver.

            Oliver had guessed that Winn either had or still had a thing for Kara. When he wasn’t gaping at Oliver, Winn’s eyes found Kara, almost reflexively.

            Oliver had already known how close Kara and Alex were, but Maggie as a new variable. She seemed to get along with everyone, and her and Alex seemed very happy together. At times Oliver had almost sense a competitive tension between Kara and Maggie, which Oliver surmised was due to sharing Alex’s affection. Despite this, Oliver frequently caught Kara smiling at her sister’s relationship, indicating Kara was delighted about her sister’s happiness. Oliver understood this; Maggie and Alex had an admirable relationship.

            And then there was James. He seemed to be the outlier. J’onn, Winn, Alex, and Kara worked together at the DEO, and, as a police officer, Maggie would occasionally join them. Kara did still work at Catco with James, but now that she had become a reporter, they saw each other less frequently. He seemed off balance with the rest of the group.

            Oliver could also see something between Kara and James. Oliver couldn’t determine whether this… affection was past or present. He had been silently watching the two of them interact, his eyebrows knitting. If they were in a relationship, Kara would have told him, right?

            Oliver should know. It might be important in training. Oliver’s eyebrows knit again. While there was truth to what he was saying, this feeling surpassed the expected reaction to the news.

            Oliver then realized that he was staring into space between James and Kara. The rest of the group was looking at him expectantly, and he quickly took his turn, saying “sorry.” He met Kara’s eyes, and she gave him a concerned look. He forced a small smile and nod, and she nodded back and turned away, the worry still on her face. Oliver finally looked around the table, to see James watching their interaction. He had a peculiar look on his face, another look that Oliver couldn’t decipher. Oliver was beginning to experience this more and more, the unknowing, and he didn’t like it. He felt his fist clench for his bow. Oliver sighed, and relaxed his hand.

            Oliver had the twitch for the bow since the Island, and he supposed it was due to his need for control, and the control that a bow supplied. While he understood the root of the twitch, he despised it. A twitch was a tell, and a tell could be a weakness.

            Oliver saw both James and Kara’s eyes on his hand. Uncomfortable with the attention, Oliver stood suddenly, saying, “I just need some air,” before leaving the apartment and walking down to the street.

            Oliver leaned against the exterior of Kara’s apartment, breathing deeply. He didn’t know why this overwhelming sensation kept coming over him. He heard footsteps descending the stairs, and said with a sigh, “I thought you would be Kara.”

            “And yet you knew it wasn’t—how?” James replied.

            “We’ve been training for a week, I know your footsteps.”

            “Okay, that’s impressive. Will you teach me how to recognize footsteps?”

            Oliver closed his eyes, “Its not really something that can be taught to someone else, you have to learn on your own. I learned from being in a high stakes situation for five years, a situation where I had to be alert of everything that’s going on.”

            “So, all I have to do is get abandoned on and Island for five years? Can do.” James said, smiling. Oliver liked this about James, that he was open when talking to Oliver about the Island. Oliver hated when people walked on eggshells around him.

            “Experience, James. Experience and practice is what you need.”

            James nodded, solemnly. “Patience isn’t my strong suit.”

            “It’s not mine either,” Oliver agreed. “At least it wasn’t, I have become better at it of late. Its, once again, a matter of time.”

            James rolled back on the balls of his feet. Oliver could tell he didn’t like this. Oliver could tell James was desperate to help, and he wanted to help immediately. Oliver was beginning to see that the majority of heroes he knew were eager, with the exception of Diggle and Sara. Like Oliver, Diggle and Sara were forced into this life, they wanted to help people, but if it weren’t for the circumstances they had experienced, they wouldn’t have chosen to do so by themselves.

            Oliver saw this as an asset. He had a clearer mind; he was less desperate to prove himself, making himself less susceptible to careless mistakes. He was about to warn James of the dangers of being careless, when Oliver suddenly froze.

            He smelled smoke-and a lot of it. He looked to the sky, and spotted it immediately. A large plume of smoke was rising, and the unmistakable glow of fire lit up the sky. The source seemed to be an apartment building a few blocks away. He was absently aware of James asking him what was going on.

Oliver didn’t bother to answer, he sprinted back into the apartment building and took the stairs two at a time. Kara was already in her costume when he burst into the room, James on his heel.

           “Stay here,” Kara said, using the deep voice she only brought out when she was Supergirl. Without another word, she flew out the window.

            Oliver didn’t pause, he didn’t even think before heading to the bathroom and donning his leather. His motion was still fluid on his way out, until he saw James.

            Oliver’s steps faltered. He quickly weighed the pros and cons, and before he could question his decision, Oliver said, “Suit up.”

Oliver thought he heard Winn mumble, “its fire proof,” as he and James headed out the door.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            Twenty-four floors. There were twenty-four floors on fire. Kara was using all of the breath in her lungs to get the fire out, but every time she got a section of flames out, another popped up. Kara had started at the top of the building, trusting the fire department to help the lower floors. Despite this, she was beginning to get worried; the middle floors were completely unprotected.

            Kara listened again, and heard a man screaming for help. She sprinted through the flames, picked him up, and flew him to the street.

            Kara noticed, without fully processing it, the fact that there were more victims on the street than the last time she left.

            She quickly pivoted on her heel, and flew back to where she had left off on floor seventeen.

            It was a slow process, although not as slow as she initially believed. When she finally all of the victims were finally safe, Kara flew up and used her super breath, along with the help of the fire departments hoses, to douse the flames.

            Out of breath and covered in soot, Kara landed. Firemen were coming up and thanking her, and she responded to each with a broad grin.

            This continued for a few minutes, until someone said to her, “Thank you Supergirl! And make sure to thank your partners for us!”

            “My partners?”

            “Yea!” Another fireman chipped in. “The guy in metal and the green dude.”

            Kara stilled. That’s why more people were saved each time she went down. She forced a smile as she said, “oh yes, my partners. I will tell them.”

            With a final forced grin, She waved, and flew off, heading home. She would be talking to Oliver and James alright, but she didn’t intend to thank them.

            She had asked Oliver to help James, not put his life in danger. They had only been working together for a week! And she had asked Oliver to stay. She could get over his disregard for asking him to stay still during an emergency, that was to be expected with Oliver. But this wasn’t training, it was reckless, and Kara intended to let him know that.

            As Kara flew into her apartment, she didn’t immediately spot Oliver or James. With a quick sweep of the x-ray vision, she saw two figures in the bathroom, one of which sat up straight at the noise of her arrival. The two quickly exited the bathroom, and Kara saw Oliver, his arm with a nasty burn running from his elbow almost to his wrist, and James with a damp washcloth.

            At the sight Oliver tensed, ready for her yelling, and of the burn on Oliver’s arm, the fight left her body, and instead she just marched to the two of them, and asked, “How can I help?”

            Oliver smiled, relaxing in relief, and Kara couldn’t help but smile back.

 


	11. Chapter 11

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara’s leg was bouncing uncontrollably. She was actively resisting the urge to spin in the chair. She was seated at Winn’s desk in the DEO, waiting for J’onn and Alex.

            All Kara knew was the little information that J’onn had told her at game night—that there was another Kryptonian on earth, and that she had been in the Phantom Zone. This had shaken Kara—she really thought that she and Kal-El were the last Kryptonians. Kara hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the visitor for the past two weeks, but there hadn’t been any more news.

            Kara couldn’t stop wondering—Krypton was a small planet, maybe there families had known each other. Why was she in the Phantom Zone? Did she know where she was? Did she have a way of reaching out? Not all of the families on Krypton spoke English—did she?

            Excluding one Kryptonian symbol burnt on the side of the building of Metropolis that was caught on camera, the visitor had been pretty quiet. The symbol was the house of Vi-Lar, but Kara wasn’t familiar with them. She would have went to the Fortress to ask Kal-Ex, but there had been that small problem of her destroying it.

            Kara had found herself wanting to talk to Oliver about it, which was weird. Maybe it was the concept of a stranger, who didn’t have any bias, giving an outside opinion. Maybe it was because of Oliver’s logical mind. Maybe it was just because of who he was as a person. Whatever the reason, the information had been top secret, and J’onn had forbid her from telling Oliver. She had listened because she was already pushing J’onn with Oliver’s presence.

            Apparently, J’onn had news, and Kara had been waiting for it for the past twenty minutes and she was getting antsy.

            Kara began to look around, and noticed that everyone was distracted. People were occupied with their own work. She lifted her nose in an attempt to look casual, and slowly grabbed the side of the desk as she surreptitiously pulled herself closer to Winn’s computer.

            Quickly checking left and right, Kara hunched over the computer, ferociously typing in the name Li-Var in the search engine of the DEO’s database. She found it difficult not to release her super powers on the computer, typing at a reasonably fast pace, and not punching the keys too hard.

            The results were loading when she heard J’onn’s unmistakable deep voice in the distance. Kara was just able to see the word Kandor before she exited out of the window and pushed off the desk to swivel around. She accidentally pushed too hard, and the chair flung across the floor, propelling the chair about 10 feet away from the desk, and causing Kara to tumble out of it.

            Kara sped to her feet, locking her fingers behind her back and rolling back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels.

She gave a huge grin as J’onn and Alex finally approached her.

            “Kara,” Alex said warily, “what are you doing?”

            “Me? Doing? Nothing. Nope, nothing at all. Why? What are you doing? You’re asking a lot of questions aren’t you? I’m stammering. Hi! You called me in?” Kara ended closing her eyes in frustration at her inability to control her speech.

            Alex looked at her through squinted eyes for a moment, and then turned her attention back to the papers she was dealing with. Kara took the chance to sit back down.

            J’onn chose to chime in then, “Supergirl. I know that you’re… invested in our Kryptonian visitor.”

            “Have you heard anything?” Kara interrupted, impulsively.

            J’onn gave her a trying look, silencing Kara. “As I was about to say, our visitor has been spotted in a warehouse in Metropolis.”

            “Barry was right, people really do love their abandoned warehouses,” Kara muttered under her breath. When the rest of J’onn’s sentence sank in, Kara popped to her feet, “Metropolis? I can meet up with Clark! Oh we can introduce her to the world!”

            “I don’t know how beneficial that would be Kara,” J’onn said slowly.

            “What? Why? We both are aliens, refugees on this planet!”

            “She seems to not respond well to other aliens. I tried to approach her yesterday, and she used her heat vision. Other aliens, other super powered beings, are a threat to her. At least that is how she sees it. However, she has been interacting decently with other humans.”

            “So, why don’t you send Alex in, have Alex talk her down, and then Clark and I can talk to her!”

            “Well, when I went to talk to her, Alex with me. She seems to have grouped Alex in with me as a threat.”

            “Okay… so what’s the game plan? Do you want me to go in and knock her out and take her back? What are we gonna do?”

            J’onn looked reluctant to supply an answer. Alex nudged him, and gave him a stern look when he met her eyes. J’onn, looking much like a disciplined puppy, looked to the ground.

            When it became clear he didn’t intend to speak, Alex chimed in, saying, “We were hoping that your friend, the Green Arrow, could help us out. We can’t risk any of our agents, and he is probably the best fighter anyways. If something were to go wrong, we would have you and Clark standing by as backup.”

            Kara felt a grin slowly light up her face. Now it was a real team up. And she’d get to actually work with Oliver! And Oliver would get to meet Clark. There were so many great aspects to this plan. “Yes! Yes. I will go ask him now! Oh this is so exciting. Alex its gonna be so great having you guys work together, he is so grim in the field,” Kara moved her hand from the top to the bottom of her face, her expression changing to a poor imitation of Oliver as she did it, “but he is also, like, the ultimate professional.”

            As Kara turned to the window, J’onn spoke up. “Kara, let me be clear. He is working for us, he will answer to me, and he wont go rogue, understood?”

            “Understood!” Kara said, her smile still as evident as ever. She waved as she turned, lifting and flying out of the window.

 

_Oliver Queen_

            He didn’t like this. Oliver was not a fan of the unknown, and not a fan of reporting to someone else. However, when Kara flew in early today, and asked him with the big doughy eyes if he could help, he had a surprisingly difficult time saying no. He sighed, and pressed the button on his COM activating his microphone.

            “Supergirl, can you x-ray? See what I’m walking into?”

            “On it Arrow. Also this is so awesome. I feel so official! Or rather, I feel you’re so official, like you’re a part of team Supergirl. Also! My cousin is here! He just got here. He says,” She paused for a moment, most likely having a conversation with her cousin. “He says hi!” she finished stiffly. Oliver concluded that he hadn’t, in fact, said hi.

            “Supergirl. X-ray?”

            “Right, duh. Yea, you’re in the clear! Just her inside. Now, you’re wearing your lead lined costume right?”

            “Yes. When did Winn make this?”

            “Oh, it was a passion project. I, you know, sew and stuff. I made Kara’s costume, too!” Winn piped in, reminding Oliver that this wasn’t a closed line of communication.

            Oliver’s hand tightened on his bow. He was armed with his usual array of arrows, along with arrows that had kryptonite mixed in with the metal, another invention of Winn’s. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to use them.

            Oliver moved from his perch on top of the building. He entered through an emergency exit on the roof, and silently navigated through the building.

            The target was on the first of three floors, and about when he reached the second floor Kara began to babble. “Wow, you are really quiet! I can barely hear you with my super hearing. Apart from your heartbeat. Which is really steady! That’s cool, how calm you are under the circumstances. What?” She said to someone Oliver couldn’t hear. “Oh. Superman says I’m probably distracting you. I’ll shut up.”

            Oliver couldn’t help but smile to himself. He quickly schooled his face, and continued down the stairs to the first floor. He saw the visitor before she saw him, and he swung his bow to the attachment on his back. She was seated, looking at something in her hands. Her back was to him, and she was covered by shadows. He put his hands up in a sign of good faith, and made sure that his voice modulator was off before he said, “I’m here to help.”

            The woman stood up and whirled around incredibly fast. Oliver could see her eyes begin to glow, her heat vision readying. Now that she was standing in the light, Oliver could see her fully. She had dark, shoulder length brown hair, and was wearing a full blue unitard with a thick red belt around her waist. She had the emblem that Kara had shown him sewn onto the chest of her outfit. “Who are you?” She demanded, her voice loud and steady.

            “My name is Oliver, and I want to help you, and I’m friends with people who can.”

            “Where am I?” She asked assertively.

            Oliver felt his eyebrows knit. He hesitantly answered, “You’re on earth. Do you know how you got here?”

            “Are you an alien? Do you wish to hurt me?”

            “No. I’m a human, but there are aliens here who want to help you, and not hurt you.”

            “Can they get me back to Krypton? Back to Kandor?”

            She didn’t know. She didn’t know that Krypton was gone. This wasn’t Oliver’s job, it wasn’t his place to tell her what happened to her home.

            “I will let them explain the situation to you. Can you tell me who you are? How did you get here?”

            She sighed, giving Oliver a suspicious look. She sat down on the boxes again. “My name is Zora Vi-Lar, from the Kandorian house Vi-Lar. I don’t know how I got to… earth, was it? The last thing I remember was being caught in the Phantom Zone.”

            “Ask her how she got to the Phantom Zone,” said an unfamiliar voice in his ear. Oliver guessed it was Clark.

            His only response was to say “Supergirl?”

            “Ask her, Oliver,” said the familiar voice.

            He turned back to Zora. “How did you get to the Phantom Zone?”

            An aloof mask fell on her face. Oliver could tell he was losing her, so he said, “you don’t need to tell me, but I have friends who are Kryptonian, and they want to meet you, to help you get use to earth.”

            Zora hesitated.

            “They really just want to help you. They mean you no harm.”

            She thought for a moment, before nodding.

            “We saw that, X-ray. We are on our way,” Kara said.

            Before he could tell Zora, two figures entered the building. Oliver turned, as Kara and Clark floated to the ground, adorned in red, yellow, and blue.

            Seeing the two of them together, beacons of hope and strength, was almost intimidating, and definitely humbling.

            “Zora Vi-Lar, meet Kara Zor-El and Kal-El, from Krypton.”

            An indecipherable look crossed Zora’s face, but it was gone before Oliver could identify it.

            Clark chimed in, saying, “Of the house of El. But on this earth we go by Superman and Supergirl.”


	12. Chapter 12

_Kara Zor-El_

            Zora stayed close to Oliver the entire way back to National City. Zora had formed some kind of attachment to him, and she had been quietly asking Oliver questions for the past few hours as they traveled. Kara, on the other hand, trailed behind the group. Clark was flying up ahead, Oliver and Zora were on a motorcycle that Oliver had somehow got his hands on, and Kara took up the rear, watching it all happen.

            Kara wasn’t comfortable. Not the flying, no she loved that, but she had a weird pit in her stomach that she wasn’t used to.

            Clark could tell that there was something off with Kara; he kept glancing back at her. He also asked her if she was alright a few times, which Kara could hear over the wind. Kara honestly didn’t know how to answer. She was okay, at least she should be, but she didn’t feel that way. She just felt off.

            And something felt off about Zora, too. She felt secretive, quiet, like she was hiding something. Kara hadn’t missed that Zora had shoved something in her pocket when Oliver walked in.

            Kara shook her head, trying to rid herself of the feeling. Despite this, Kara couldn’t help but feel relieved when she saw the National City sign fly under her.

            As she landed on the balcony at the DEO, she realized that her eyebrows were unintentionally knitted together. She quickly rectified this, turning around while doing so to avoid being seen by her sister or Oliver.

            When Kara turned around, she saw Oliver talking to Alex and J’onn in hushed tones, with Zora slightly behind him. Clark, however, was hovering between the cluster and Kara, a worried look on his face. Kara sent a reassuring smile his way, before passing him to join the group. Clark was on her heels.

            “I’m sorry that I startled you the other day, we figured another alien would be more comforting than a human. I assure you that we at the DEO mean you no harm,” J’onn was saying as Kara approached.

            To Kara’s surprising annoyance, Zora looked to Oliver, who nodded, before she responded, “Thank you. I am sorry that I shot the heat out of my eyes—it is something I was not aware I could do.”

            J’onn nodded understandingly. He turned to Alex briefly to say something quietly, while Oliver extended his hand to Clark in an official greeting. Clark seemed to have gripped it a little tightly, but Oliver grinned throughout. Kara, however, noticed little of this, as she discreetly watched Zora’s reaction to not being observed. Kara saw a fleeting smile go over her features, and the anxiety that had been etched into her face fleetingly disappeared.

            Once again, Kara felt her eyebrows knit as she bit her lip. She absently watched Oliver clenching his fist, the weird tic that he did. He was uncomfortable in his conversation with Clark. She rotated, noticing Hank and Alex anxiously turn from their conversation to face the group. Oliver and Clark respectfully ended their conversation to face the duo.

            “Zora, we want to help you. We want to give you a place to stay and introduce you to this world until you’re able to go out on your own. However, we can’t do this until we are sure you mean no harm to us, this planet, or the people who inhabit it. So please, tell us how you got to the phantom zone.” J’onn said with a perfect mixture of sternness and kindness.

            Kara watched Zora’s reaction carefully. Zora’s eyebrows scrunched briefly, as though thinking about the answer. It was a moment before her face settled, and she, almost mechanically, turned to Oliver as though to ask his opinion. But it was calculated, it felt more like an after thought that an impulse.

            Oliver, always so hard to read, nodded at Zora, giving nothing away of his thoughts behind the action.

            Zora turned back towards J’onn, and took a deep breath. “I’m from the city of Kandor, the biggest city on Krypton. The Vi-Lar’s are one of the most powerful families in Kandor. We were beacons of hope and good among the community. But… my sister was the, uh, shame of the family. She turned to crime. Small things at first, but she kept taking more and more risks. The enforcers became aware of these crimes. My sister, she was close in age to me and close to looks. We had never gotten along, I was a follower of the rules, and my parents noticed and appreciated it. Well, when the enforcers got close, she framed me for the crimes. Any witnesses could hardly tell the difference between us, so there was no evidence to the contrary. I was sentenced to the Phantom Zone as punishment. I don’t remember much from that time, but the next thing that happened was I woke up in a field. I tried to get to the nearest person, but my feet were so fast, I ran to a city. But the city was so unlike Kandor, it was so crowded with so many people… I, I got overwhelmed and my eyes started to hurt, and I accidentally burned something into that building. I realized that I was dangerous, so I went to hide in the warehouse. Kids happened upon me once or twice, but I tried to be kind and get them away.”

            Zora looked up from the spot she was staring at on the ground. She seemed to be gaging the group’s reaction to her story. Alex, J’onn, and Clark were nodding their heads. Did they not see how rehearsed that sounded? Kara looked at Oliver, hoping to see the doubt she felt reflected on his face, but he remained passive, with a infuriatingly unreadable look.

            J’onn spoke first, “I see. As there is no way to check your story, and the fact that Martians cant read Kryptonian minds, I guess we will have to give you the benefit of the doubt Zora Vi-Lar. Alex will show you to where you can stay. Clark, Kara, a word?”

            Both Kara and her cousin nodded, and followed him to a more private corner. With amusement, Kara saw Winn cornering Oliver, and begin asking him about the performance of the lead lined suit. Kara received a pleading look from Oliver, to which she answered with a huge smile, as she turned back to J’onn. J’onn looked solemn.

            “One of you needs to tell her about Krypton.”

            Kara and Clark looked at each other. This wasn’t a conversation either of them wanted to have.

            Kara jutted out her lip pleadingly. Clark caved quickly, a smile lighting his face at his cousin’s behavior. He nodded at J’onn. The two men were about to turn, when Kara said “wait!”

            They both turned to look at her, so Kara continued. “You trust her story?”

            Clark nodded immediately. Unsurprising, her cousin loved to see the best in everyone. J’onn, however, answered more slowly. “I’m not sure, but as for now yes. I do know that the house of Vi-Lar was a big member of Kandorian society. They did stand for good and hope. And there was a black sheep in the family—I see no reason to doubt her.”

            For a moment, Kara was tempted to protest, but decided that it would be more beneficial to create a strong case behind her suspicions, first. With Kara’s nod of consent, Clark went to follow Zora and Alex, and J’onn went to go… wherever he goes.

            Kara knew that they weren’t the people to go to with this. Clark was too set in optimism, and J’onn was too focused on facts.

            Kara needed someone who would follow gut instincts, someone who was quiet and subtle. Kara need Oliver Queen. She needed the Green Arrow.

 

_Oliver Queen_

            “So it worked! That’s so great. I mean, I know you didn’t get much action. But still, it didn’t give you lead poisoning like I thought, so that’s a win! Not that I thought it would, I mean it could have. But you were totally safe, it would need so much more exposure to really poison you. Plus you’ve got so much muscle… it wouldn’t even be able to penetrate you I bet. Wow, what a great time to use the word penetrate in casual conversation.”

            Oliver listened absently as Winn droned on. He hadn’t really paid attention after about 30 seconds of the rambling.

            While Winn was speaking, Oliver took the time to consider Zora’s story. She had been rather…clingy since they left the warehouse in Metropolis. However, this didn’t phase Oliver. Zora was hardly the first person to become clingy after a save. But something about her story felt too structured. Oliver couldn’t put his finger on what was bothering him. He would have to keep an eye on the situation in the future.

            Looking to Winn for the first time in about 4 minutes, Oliver saw Winn staring at him expectantly. Oliver quickly said, “oh, yea, of course.” Winn looked greatly pleased with this answer, and he was about to continue talking when Oliver saw Kara leave the corner where she had stood with J’onn and Clark.

            Oliver liked Clark—he was rather goofy, like Kara. He figured the cold shoulder he received at the warehouse was simply a protective family member. After speaking to him for a few minutes once they arrived at the DEO, Oliver had begun to relax tension that he hadn’t known he was carrying.

            Winn was still talking when Oliver walked towards Kara. He heard Winn say “okay! See you Friday!” Oliver would worry about what he had agreed to later.

            “We need to talk, lets go home.” Kara nodded once before grabbing his arms and taking off.

            It took Oliver a few minutes to realize that he had called Kara’s apartment home. He flinched slightly, and hoped she wouldn’t notice.

            Moments after landing at Kara’s apartment, they turned to each other and simultaneously said “I don’t trust her.”

            Kara’s solemn face cracked into a grin.

            “We need to keep an eye on Zora,” Oliver continued.

            Oliver could see that Kara was beginning to excited. She was practically bouncing as she said, “Now is it a team-up?”

            Oliver couldn’t help but return her smile as he sighed and consented. “Fine, yes. Now it’s a team up.”

            Kara squealed and ran to her room to change.

            Oliver was still smiling as he sank into the couch.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its short-very filler <3 i have officially planned out each chapter so hopefully updates will be more consistent.

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara was seated on the floor with Zora, watching Oliver take on Alex and James. He had been training at the DEO more and more, now that J’onn was less hostile towards him. The training sessions were becoming something of an event, and Oliver had begun to allow agents to join in once or twice a week. His impact at the DEO was really beginning to be felt and appreciated, which gave Kara warm feeling in her gut.

            Oliver deserved this-being recognized for his goodness, and not being dragged down by the darkness of a his city.

Kara had also noticed a change in his attitude in the month since he had started cooperating with the DEO. He was laughing more, and brooding less. He seemed lighter; he carried less weight on his broad shoulders. That was the other thing that was changing—Kara had begun to notice and appreciate his… physique. Oliver Queen was unique, to say the least. Once or twice, Kara had walked in to the living room while Oliver was putting on a shirt, and immediately noticed his body. Her previous assumption that he had been forged into a weapon was correct. But beyond a primal appreciation, she also saw his scars. It made it impossible not to think of all that he had gone through, and it constantly awed her that he was still so fundamentally good, so invested in helping people, when no one had helped him.

Kara also noticed a difference in herself. When Oliver’s steady and calm presence was around, Kara felt the chaos of her mind soothed. She could think and plan as opposed to react on impulse. Kara couldn’t help but be thankful for his presence in her life, and she often found herself worrying about him leaving.

            Oliver had been here for two months, and Kara was already relying on him. Oliver had used the device that Cisco had given her to call Thea the previous week, and he had told her that he had to finish up helping the DEO with a problem, and that he would be home soon.

            Not that Kara had been eavesdropping. But she had super hearing! Its not like she could help it. But that was beside the point—Kara had felt her stomach drop at these words, and had felt off for the rest of the night.

            Kara pulled herself out of her thoughts, realizing that she had been staring at Oliver, and saw that Zora was looking at her expectantly.

            Zora had been at the DEO for a month now, and had begun to spend more time with Kara, Oliver, James, Winn, and Alex. She had yet to do something that warranted suspicion, but Oliver and Kara both agreed that something was still off there.

            “I’m sorry, I totally missed that,” Kara said apologetically, a smile on her face.

            Zora grinned understandingly, “I asked if it could be possible for me to study with Oliver?”

            Kara paused. Something in her felt queasy at the thought. She hesitated for a moment longer before saying, “I don’t know—I think he may leave soon.”

            Zora pursed her lips as Kara’s eyes found Oliver again. “Well, maybe before he goes.” Zora was silent for a moment, but Kara could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “he is handsome, no?”

            Kara started. She quickly turned towards Zora, only to see the Kandorian staring at Oliver with appreciation.

            “What? No. I mean yes—but I don’t know he’s so… you know? Also he has this…person. Felicity—“

            Zora cut her off, “a mate?”

            Kara snorted. “No! No. Not a mate, not anymore at least but I think Oliver’s still a little wrapped up in her.”

            Kara wasn’t looking, but Zora noticed Oliver’s attention split from the fight at the sound of his name. His eyes searched, finding Kara in the crowded room. His expression softened for a moment. At this, Zora simply said, “Yes. He is…wrapped up in someone at the moment.”

            Before Kara could really process Zora’s true meaning of this, Winn rushed into a room, excitement lighting his face.

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            Oliver was fighting both James and Alex. While James was learning at a steady, albeit average pace, Alex, an already skilled fighter, was quickly improving. Oliver couldn’t help but think that she would make a great Black Canary. However, wrong place, wrong time, and wrong world.

            Oliver liked Alex a lot. She was cool and calculating, strong-willed. In a weird way, she reminded Oliver of Slade before he went crazy with the Mirakuru.

            J’onn also reminded Oliver of Diggle in an interesting way. Steady and calm. Logical.

            Oliver was finding many parallel’s between Kara’s team and his own. It was comforting, and he continued to find himself relaxing and settling when in their company.

It was unnerving how quickly he was becoming accustomed to National City, and Earth-38.

That’s not to say that he didn’t miss his friends, his family. Especially Thea, Dig, and Felicity. He often found himself regretting how he left things with Felicity. Despite their romantic relationship being over, he cared for her a great deal. But the more time he spent on Earth-38, with Kara, the more he realized that it really was over. He loved Felicity, and a part of him always would, but they were in such different places, and the darkness that gripped Oliver had begun to cling to her too much. He couldn’t subject her to that anymore-not after Helix.

            He wouldn’t lie and say that a big part of his comfort on Earth-38 didn’t come from Kara. She had a way about her—she could make anyone feel comfortable and at home. For someone like Oliver, who constantly felt the effect of the island, making him feel lost and nomadic, that feeling Kara provided was intoxicating.

            But there was a line he wouldn’t cross. He couldn’t do what he had done to Felicity to anyone else. He wouldn’t tarnish them. He had been thinking about a line from Hamlet: “The dram of evil doth all the noble substance of a doubt to his own scandal.” Anatoly had explained it to him once, when he was beginning to become darker, right before he left the island for the final time after the five years. The concept of the line is that one drop of evil can spread and touch everything. Anatoly had demonstrated his meaning by putting one drop of food dye into a glass of water. Slowly, but surely, the entire glass of water turned green, an intentional choice, Oliver was sure.

            At the time, Oliver didn’t understand how this was applicable to relationships, but he was beginning to see it. He was the dram of evil, and it spread to anyone he came into contact with. Kara was such a beacon of good, he refused to let anything like that happen to her.

            So he appreciated their friendship, and didn’t allow himself to consider anything more.

            Oliver absently heard his name being said, and his already split attention left the fight he was in, and turned to the source, which he had immediately recognized as Kara. She wasn’t looking at the fight, instead staring at Zora with incredulity. Oliver smiled at the obstinacy on her face, and wondered what had gotten her riled up.

            Oliver instinctively blocked a swing that James threw at him, but was too distracted to stop Alex’s legs from sweeping out his own. He caught himself quickly, but quietly murmured good job, to which Alex responded with another swift jab that Oliver neatly dodged.

            Before Alex, Oliver, or James could make another move, Winn rushed into the room, a device held under his arm.

            He stopped in front of Oliver and Alex, and lifted his had to speak before folding to his knees, his hand on a cramp in his side. He was panting unevenly.

            “Sorry,” Winn said between wheezes. “Too… excited… must… breath.”

            Oliver let out a chuckle, his unusual fondness for the kid rising. “It’s alright, take your time.”

            After a few moments, during which Kara joined Oliver in front of Winn, Winn stood up straight, his breath shallow, but steady.

            “I finished the red sun lamp.”

            Oliver quickly turned to look at Kara, a look of triumph on his face. He couldn’t help but smirk at the flash of panic that went across Kara’s face.

            He was going to enjoy this.


	14. Chapter 14

_Oliver Queen_

            Silently, Oliver watched as Winn set up the red sun lamps. His attention continued to shift between Kara and Winn, studying both, until Kara won out as the most interesting.

            Externally, Kara emitted nothing besides confidence and bravado. She was stretching, big, huge, exaggerated stretches. It took Oliver a moment to realize that she wasn’t stretching genuinely, but instead as a joke. He allowed himself a grin, something he still felt uncomfortable doing during practice. The last time he had truly enjoyed himself while practicing was with Shado, that was the last time he had truly had fun, and allowed himself to forget what he was constantly up against. Sure, he and Diggle could laugh at times, but the weight of their responsibilities still hung over their shoulders with every punch and block. Shado, on the other hand, was a different story. At that point, he had only lost his father and Yao Fei. His father’s death was self-inflicted, and Yao Fei, despite taking Oliver in, was still a relative stranger. In retrospect, Oliver supposed that the true gravity of his situation and the future that it would lead to hadn’t set in. When he fought with Shado, it was just him, a girl he liked, and his best friend.

            The fake yawns of boredom and the emphasized stretching made Oliver feel that lightness again, but in a way, this was better than the island. For once, he wasn’t fighting because he had to, and he wasn’t training because of the next threat. He was sparring with a friend, for fun.

            “And here… we… go!” Winn said excitedly. Winn then turned to Oliver and Kara, who were standing about ten feet apart from each other. With a devilish grin, he made a large gesture as he flipped a small switch, and pools of red light surrounded them. Excited, Winn announced “are you ready to rumble?!”

            The red sunlight’s impact on Kara was almost instantaneous. She nodded to Winn, indicating that it had worked, but Oliver didn’t need that confirmation. He could see the difference in how she held herself, how her chin didn’t jut out the way it only did when she was in her uniform.

            But someone would only be able to notice this if they were looking for it. And if they knew Kara, knew the way she moved and behaved. If they didn’t know, all they would see is a confident, albeit silly woman, raising her hand in a theatrical signal for Oliver to ‘come at her.’

            Absently, Oliver noticed Zora, who seemed extremely invested in the fight. He didn’t let himself dwell at it, instead turning back to the matter at hand.

Smiling once again, he remained still, waiting for Kara to come to him, as he knew she would. She was too impatient to win this game. Oliver didn’t need to tense his body in preparation, because he was always ready for the worst-case scenario. His inability to relax was another result of the island, although it came in handy.

            Oliver simply took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, relaxing. He heard Kara try to take advantage of the situation, and dash towards him. Oliver open his eyes before she got too close, and saw the sloppy fist extended. In a move he was sure would infuriate her, Oliver calmly stepped back. Her momentum carried her through, and she stumbled when she reached the spot Oliver was a moment ago.

            To her credit, she didn’t let it get her down, instead, she immediately turned back to Oliver and charged. Once again, Oliver dodged smoothly.

            “Oh, come on Olly!” Kara said, raising her arms in exasperation. At this, Oliver hesitated. No one besides Thea and Laurel called him Olly. Before he had time to process how he felt about this development, Kara ran at him once more, having seen his distraction. Oliver didn’t have time to side step, so he blocked instead, and pushed the thoughts of the nickname away as the fight truly began.

            Oliver had decided weeks ago that he wouldn’t take it easy on Kara, he wouldn’t hold back because he knew she would heal when the red sun was removed. He could truly give his all in a fight, without major consequences, something he hadn’t done since he sparred with Slade and Shado on the island.

            Kara wasn’t a bad fighter-on the contrary, she thought through her movements decently, and even without the yellow sun she had serious strength behind her punches, but she was undisciplined. Her punches lacked purpose and connection. She was pretty quick, but didn’t always think far enough ahead. And, most infuriatingly, she wasn’t making a proper fist.

            Oliver got quite a few punches in, punches that Kara was taking exceptionally well, despite her nose bleeding.

            She had yet to hit Oliver.

            Despite her steady attacks, Oliver could see Kara was beginning to get tired. He knew he would have to stop the fight soon; there were too many people she worked with watching. She couldn’t afford to lose the respect of the DEO, of her team.

            Oliver knew just how to stop the fight. He repressed a grin as he allowed one of Kara’s punches to slip past his defense. He braced himself, tensing against the oncoming force.

            Kara’s fist hit his cheek, and with it came a satisfying snap of a broken thumb.

            That’s why you need to know how to make a proper fist.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            A string of curse words that Kara had never thought about saying before spewed out of her mouth.

            She couldn’t help it-she had never experienced pain like this. Sure, she had been hurt, but that was more of a general ache. But this, this was a sharp and precise pain.

            She hardly noticed as Oliver barked at Winn to turn the red sun lamps off. She barely noticed when he came up to her, a small smile still on his face, and tried to get her to come to the roof with him. She definitely noticed when he picked her up, and carried her to the roof, but she didn’t care enough to stop him—she was too wrapped up in the pain in her hand. It was such a small area of pain, but it was extraordinarily all encompassing.

            When they reached the roof of the DEO, Oliver gently let her down, but continued kneeling next to her. He murmured something quickly, but, once again, Kara wasn’t paying attention.

            Kara watched as Oliver took her left hand. He said something to her, but it fell on deaf ears. Oliver made eye contact with Kara, and she came out of her trance to hear him saying “one, two, three!”

            Suddenly, the pain in her hand tripled. Oliver had forced the broken thumb back into place.

            “Son of a snagriff!” She yelled, but the pain had already begun to fade. She finally noticed where she was, and why Oliver had brought her here. The roof had the best access to the yellow sun, and it was doing its job.

            Kara relaxed, and settled onto the ground as she felt her body absorb the rays yellow sun. As her breathing became steadier, Kara realized that Oliver was laughing. She lifted her upper body off of the ground, putting her weight on her elbows as she looked at him quizzically. He was sitting with his back against the wall of the roof, and his legs folded up towards him, comfortably.

            “Son of a snagriff?” He said between guffaws, looking towards her.

            “What? I heard my parents say it a lot when I was young, and when Clark took me to the fortress I looked it up… I don’t like cursing and Winn, Clark and I are the only ones to speak Kryptonian, so I curse in Kryptonian. What is so funny?”

            Oliver just looked at her, his laughter getting louder than she had ever heard it.

            Without meaning too, Kara started to giggle. Just as Oliver’s did, Kara’s laughter grew in volume, until the two heroes had dissolved into hysterics.

            Oliver laid his hand that had been hidden beside him onto his stomach, and Kara saw his pointer finger and his pinky were swelling.

            Still laughing, she pointed and asked “what happened?”

            He continued to smile as he said between breaths “Yellow sun, tight grip.”

            The usual guilt didn’t come to Kara, as she had expected. Kara knew that Oliver had endured worse, and that it would be something of an insult to fuss over that. So, the pair continued laugh, carelessly.

            Between their laughs, Kara managed to ask, “What did you do, when we got to the roof?”

            “Made sure it’d heal in place.”

            “Thanks.”

            “No problem. Happy to help.”

            When the two of them finally settled, Kara turned to look at Oliver, who was still smiling, relaxing against the ledge of the roof.

            “You’re right, you know.”

            “I’m right about what?” he replied.

            “I need to fight, and I need to fight well. There are people out there who are just as strong as I am, and I need to be able to handle it.”

            Oliver nodded, only traces of his grin still on his face.

            Kara continued, “Oliver, the things you can do… they’re incredible. You are forged like a weapon, and I know you went through the worst things imaginable to get there, but you’re there, and James is lucky to have you as a teacher. I would be lucky to have you as a teacher.”

            Oliver and Kara were both still for a moment, and then Oliver smiled. But this smile, it was different than the stiff and small ones she was used to. This was a teethy, cheeky smile. It lit up his entire face, the light seemed to push the shadows that lived on his shoulders away. Kara thought that, for the first time with her, and maybe the first time ever, Oliver really heard someone when they told him how truly good he was.

            And this thought alone made Kara return the smile, the same enthusiasm in her face. Because Oliver Queen, of all people, deserved to know that he was good. And Kara was going to make sure he did.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys. my writer's block is gone. hallelujah. also, the snagriff or whatever i said in the last chapter is totally legit and they used it in a comic. I did my homework ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara’s eyes kept drifting from the Daily Planet in front of her to the man sitting across from her at Noonan’s. She couldn’t help it—there was something different about Oliver since the day on the roof. It was like he had laughed off ten pounds of worry. But he was still Oliver—smiles still rare, exterior still cool, eyes still thoughtful. He still had his tic, which Kara had decided was a reflex to discomfort, where he wished he had his bow with him.

            Kara couldn’t help but be proud that he was doing it less.

            Another benefit of the past two weeks of training was that Kara and Oliver had gotten more comfortable working together. Oliver had even started to go out with Kara as the Green Arrow. They had a system where they would clasp forearms as she flew, and she would get twenty feet or so away from the ground, and she would drop him. He would easily roll out of it, unharmed.

            When Oliver had first proposed this, Kara was pretty sure she had gaped like a fish. Ultimately, Kara decided to trust Oliver’s knowledge of his own abilities. She had decided to trust him. And they had saved lives because of it.

            Kara also noticed Oliver trusting her more. He trusted her to take the lead, he fell back more. And this mutual trust between heroes had grown into a mutual trust between friends.

            Oliver had listened to her talk about the distance she felt from her sister, her peers. And she had listened to Oliver talk about his worry for his sister. Thea was the only family he had left. Oliver had been trusting her more, telling her more, and it meant the world to Kara, but it didn’t stop the biggest question from bouncing around her head.

            Her eyes wandered to Oliver’s left hand, which was resting on his coffee cup.

            When she finally tore her eyes away from his hand, she noticed Oliver lazily look up from his paper. He smiled lightly, “is there something you’d like to ask me, Kara?”

            Kara bit her lip. She felt like she was biting her mouth closed, to prevent herself from blurting out the question. But Kara wasn’t good at keeping her mouth shut.

            “Are you ever gonna explain the thing about your wife?”

            Oliver’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “This is about Nyssa?”

            “Nyssa is a pretty name,” Kara said, slumping in her seat childishly.

            “Yes, I suppose it is,” Oliver said, a grin on his face. “Too bad she’d be more interested in your name than mine.”

            “What? In Kara? There’s nothing special about Kara. I mean, yea, I guess its more uncommon than Oliver, but,” Oliver silenced her with a pointed look. “Oh! I see. So, how did it happen then?”

            “It’s a long story. Do you have time?”

            Kara nodded eagerly.

            Oliver put his copy of the Daily Planet down, and took a sip of coffee. “I’ve told you about Malcolm Merlyn, right?” Kara nodded. “Well Malcolm got on the bad side of the League of Assassins. Nyssa came to Star City to see if he was truly still alive, due to the rumors that he had faked his death, and reported back to her father, the Ra’s Al Ghul. When the League found out, they came after Malcolm. As much as I might have been tempted, I could let them kill Malcolm. I didn’t condone death, not anymore, and I had just found out that Malcolm was Thea’s father-”

            “Malcolm is Thea’s father?” Kara interrupted, shocked. Oliver just nodded.

            “I then found out that Malcolm had controlled Thea, used some kind of drug, and made her kill Sara—the Black Canary. The League wanted Sara’s killer dead, and Malcolm had footage of Thea killing her. He threatened to release it, which would have put a target on my sister’s back. So, I did what I had to do: I said that I had done it, and challenged the Ra’s to a trial by combat.”

            Kara noticed Oliver shifting. Her eyes instinctively fell to his hand, which he had clenched, searching for his bow. He shut his eyes for a moment, and Kara fought the instinct to grab his hand.

            “I lost. He ran a sword through my chest, and pushed me off the mountain we were on, and left me, thinking I was dead. I almost was. But my friend, Maseo, he was in the League, and he saved my life. He brought me to his wife, another friend, Tatsu. They saved my life. When Ra’s found out I survived, he thought that it was a sign that I was to be the next Ra’s. When I refused his training, he dressed up as the Green Arrow, started killing people, but I didn’t, I couldn’t give in. Until he-” Oliver’s eyebrows scrunched, as though this was hard to talk about.

            “Until he killed Thea.” Kara felt her mouth drop open slightly, but she remained silent. “The League has this… thing. It can prolong life, it can heal the injured, and it can revive the dead. So I made a deal. My sister’s life for mine. He healed Thea, and I was forced to become the next Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s forced me to marry Nyssa, in a move to attempt to stop her from rebelling. It was done by a priestess in Nanda Parbat. It was never… consummated. I have no idea in what circles it would be counted as legal, but I suppose Nyssa sees it as so. We worked together to take down her father, and she’s an ally now, when need be.”

            Oliver finished speaking, and picked up his mug again, taking a long sip of coffee.

            Kara racked her brain, searching for something to say, ignore the rush of relief that flooded her after he had finished his story.

            “And I thought alien refugee lost in space for years with a baby cousin who is also older than her was a crazy story,” Kara finally said, earning a smile from Oliver.

            The pair settled back into their seats, having unintentionally leaned towards each other during the story. They once again lifted their newspapers, and continued reading.

            This time, it was Oliver who interrupted their amicable silence, by clearing his throat.

            Kara gave him a sarcastic smirk, and said “is there something you’d like to ask me, Olly?”

            Oliver had initially grinned at her repetition of his earlier words, but he seemed to hesitate over the use of the name Olly.

            Kara froze in response. Had she gone too far? Had she shattered this trust that they had built by assuming too much of their friendship. She quickly backtracked, “Sorry, sorry. It’s just easier to say than Oliver and I know I heard Sara and Thea call you that. But then of course you’ve known them since forever. I mean you got lost at sea with one and the other you were at her birth so, duh, of course you’d have nicknames! I just, I don’t know I liked it and it rolled off the tongue but—what are you laughing at?” Kara cut herself off when Oliver’s chuckle grew too much to ignore.

            “Nothing, nothing. Well, not nothing, you. You’re doing the overanalyzing and stammering thing again.”

            Kara let out a huff of air, and slouched back against her seat, her arms crossed.

            “Kara, its fine. You can call me Olly, it just caught me off guard. No one new has called me Olly since before the island. I guess something about the person I’ve become doesn’t seem all that nickname friendly. But its okay for you to do it I think.”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I think you’re plenty friendly when you’re not sticking arrows in people,” Kara responded, her worry dissolving. Oliver shook his head jokingly at her. “So,” she continued, “what did you want to ask me?”

            “Oh. I was going to suggest we invite Zora to game night on Sunday,” he said, casually. Oliver apparently had no idea how Kara’s stomach dropped at these words.

            “Oh, yea. Of course. I mean duh, she has been spending training with us why not have her join game night. Sure. Yes. I’ll tell James and Maggie and everyone.”

            “Kara—my thoughts on Zora haven’t changed. I have been inviting her to training because I want to keep an eye on her, and I want her to come to game night for the same reason.” Kara once again felt the tension relax from her body as Oliver continued, “I can’t leave until I know she isn’t a threat to anyone.”

            Kara’s eyes widened. She was semi-aware of Oliver still talking, but she couldn’t hear him.

            He was leaving. Of course he was leaving. His family was on a different earth, he was a mayor for Rao’s sake! He had Thea and Dig and his team and Felicity… he had his own life, and this one he had made, the one with Alex and Winn and James and her… This wasn’t his life. It was temporary. _They_ were temporary. She had just gotten used to having him around.

            Kara looked up to see that Oliver had stopped talking and was looking at her with worried eyes. She swallowed her indecipherable feelings, and said, hoarsely at first, “Yes. Of course she can come. Good idea to keep an eye on her. Well I should get to work. I’ll see you back at h—at my apartment.” She gave Oliver a small wave, and then rushed out of the restaurant.

 

_Oliver Queen_

            How did he keep ending up squeezed on Kara’s small couch between J’onn and Winn? Did the seats at game night ever change?

            Oliver was internally grumbling about this as Kara, James, and Alex set up mousetrap. Kara had barely looked at Oliver since their breakfast last Friday. He had been racking his brain, trying to figure out what he did wrong, what he had said, but continued to come up short.

            Oliver was more perturbed by this than he usually was when someone was mad at him. He supposed it was because he had come to lean on Kara, rely on her over the past few weeks. It had only been a few days of this silent treatment, but, if he were being honest, Oliver missed her. And he never thought he would miss her constant chipper attitude. He had begun to wonder when that eternal optimism had turned from grating to endearing.

            Oliver shook his head. He turned to look at Zora instead, giving himself the task of recon instead of dwelling on his issue with Kara. Zora was… a mystery. She stayed quiet for the most part, but always seemed eager to join the group on outings. Today, she sat quietly between Maggie and James, her knees pulled to her chest, smiling occasionally.

            He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be focusing on something vigilante related when he was supposed to just have a night out with his friends. Because that is what these people were. Its what they had become, his friends. Oliver found himself smiling and laughing with them, and not the forced smiles or laughter he usually had. The lightness he felt was, yes, in a big part due to Kara, but it was also the people he had begun to surround himself with.

            So Oliver made the conscious decision to enjoy himself. Not to focus on Zora, or Star City, or why Kara was mad at him, but to just enjoy himself and his friends and the fun.

            And as the night progressed, Oliver was surprised to find that he had begun to enjoy himself. He laughed at Winn’s dumb references. He jeered with Alex at her sarcastic comments. He was jokingly stern with John. He had fun, and he didn’t let the darkness win.

And, eventually, something apparently changed in Kara as well. She seemed to release the anger she had with him, and she had begun to enjoy herself, too. Oliver couldn’t help but notice how far they’d come, that he was now bringing joy and light to Kara’s life.

            What were the odds of that?


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo I am so sorry I am so late. I lost my journal with my chapter outlines, and I am super blocked and this is super short and I super suck.

**Chapter 16**

_Oliver Queen_

 

Block the attacker on his right. Sweep kick in front of him. Jab to his left. Grab behind him, and throw across the room. Duck. Block. Kick. Jab. Grab and throw. Duck. Block. Kick. Jab.

            One by one he fought off his opponents. He barely had to think of it as the Arrow Haze faded over him.

            The arrow Haze was what Kara had taken to calling his mindset whenever he was in the field. It was the absolutely calm and focus that washed over him on a mission.

            Granted, he wasn’t exactly up against Mirakuru soldiers right now. In fact, it was almost the exact opposite. Oliver was in the DEO, practicing. At the moment, it was Kara, Alex, James, and Zora against himself, as they tried to ring the bell behind him. It was one of his training exercises, because something always amused him about his pupils’ frustration.

            It was interesting that the name ‘arrow Haze’ didn’t bother him as much as arrow cave or team arrow did.

            When Oliver tired of the exercise, he took each one out, one by one. He started with Zora, the student with the least progress, going on to James, Kara, and finally Alex, the one who put up the best fight. His students were finally sprawled out on the floor around him.

            He froze suddenly. Something was wrong. He was calling these people… students. It was radical enough he considered them friends, but the fact that he considered them students was such a contrast from where he had mentally been a few months ago, it took him by surprise.

            Oliver pivoted, looking at the panting people around him, to find Winn standing directly behind his line of sight, Winn’s hands in two feeble fists.

            Right. He had forgotten that Winn was training, too. It was mostly for fun, and some self-defense, but Oliver supposed he had forgotten to include Winn in the exercises today.

            Oliver stepped toward the cowering man, intending on apologizing for his neglect, but Winn had a different impulse.

            At Oliver’s advance, Winn seemed to pretend he was boneless, collapsing onto the ground before Oliver had the chance to say anything.

            At this, Oliver couldn’t help but laugh. He walked over to Winn, and extended an arm to help him up.

            “You’re all alright. I made sure not to knock any of you out. Get up,” Oliver said to the group while hoisting Winn up.

            Groans answered him.

            He smiled once again, turning to walk over to Kara. He extended a hand, the smile still lighting his face. Kara remained prostrate on the ground. She quickly opened the eye closer Oliver, closing it again immediately.

            Oliver watched with amusement, as Kara let her tongue loll out of her mouth, and forced her body into an even more unnatural position on the ground.

            Still grinning, Oliver crouched down and put his hands under Kara’s armpits, pulling her to her feet, saying, “up we go,” like he was talking to a infant.

            “Nooooooo,” Kara whined.

            “Oh, come on, don’t be a child,” Oliver laughed.

            “But I wanna,” she complained.

            After a momentary struggle, Oliver and Kara were standing straight, snickering and beaming at each other.

            The stupor of sorts was broken when James cleared his throat, seemingly out of nowhere. Oliver turned to look at the group staring at him. Winn and Alex were both smirking at the heroes, Zora had another difficult to read look, and James just looked troubled.

            Kara hopped over to her sister, who was waiting with a water bottle.

            Oliver absently noticed Alex get a text and excuse herself to some DEO business, with Winn trailing behind to get back to work.

            What did he just do? Oliver didn’t… lose himself like that.

            He couldn’t deal with this personality crisis right now. It was too much to process, it was too public, it was too close to answers that he didn’t want to get near.

            So, he did what he is so good at. He compartmentalized. Instead of dwelling, Oliver walked over Kara, accepting the water she was holding out for him.

            “Nice workout today, teach,” Kara said, punching his arm.

            Oliver grimaced, replying “don’t call me teach.”

            “Alright… Ollie.”

            He grimaced again. “Don’t make me regret giving you permission to call me that.”

            “You couldn’t regret it! You got me as a friend. And I have never met anyone who has regretted me. I’m a great friend to have, everyone thinks so. Except that Snagriff Jessica Moore when I first got to earth; but that’s neither here nor there. You’re lucky to have me.”

            “You know what, I think I am.”

            The last thing Oliver saw was Kara’s grin, as something hit him upside the head. As his vision went out, he heard Kara scream his name, and then it all went black.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            “Oliver!” Kara screamed.

            “What the hell?!” James shouted.

            Zora just shrugged. “He was the only real threat. At least with the red sun lamp. But, unlike you dear Kara Zor-El, I have more tools at my disposal than just those given to me by yellow sun.”

            “Zora! What are you doing? You were our friend!” James accused.

            “No, I was your friend. Oliver and Kara here never really trusted me, did they?” Zora turned to her. “You’re just like your mother, did you know that?”

            “You knew my mom?” Kara asked, incredulous.

            “Who do you think locked me in the Phantom Zone? Oh, yes. I knew the righteous Alura Zor-El. So much better than us, always looking down on us commoners.”

            “My mom wasn’t perfect Zora, I know that. But we are on a new planet you can make a new life for yourself here. You don’t have to do anything drastic.”

            “Oh, Kara, thank you for those words, and you’re right. You’re right! I don’t _have_ to do this. But, what you don’t understand, because you are so annoyingly bright and chipper and insist on seeing the sunshine and rainbows coming out of everyone’s ass. No, Kara, I don’t have to do this, but I really, really want to.”

            Zora stalked over to Kara. “Don’t worry, Big Eyes. I will see you again. And I won’t kill him. He’s too pretty to kill. Just I nice concussion today.”

            Kara’s eyes immediately found Oliver. She stepped in front of him, “Don’t you touch him.”

            Zora smirked. “Kara, that’s one of your many, many problems. You have such a one track mind. I didn’t mean your dear, wounded Oliver. And I am saying wounded emotionally. Rao he has issues not the least of which is being in love with a girl from another earth.” Kara’s head snapped up, but Zora continued, “but I’m getting off track. I meant this idiot.”

            Kara noticed too late that Zora had maneuvered herself next to James. With fighting experience far beyond what she had learned with Oliver, Zora grabbed James’ head and slammed it against her knee. Immediately, she caught his head with her left hand and smashed it against the wall three times. James collapsed, bloody.

            Kara rushed to his side, his injuries far surpassing those of Oliver’s. After reaching James, Kara turned to Zora, but she was already gone, past the red sun lamp. She had her powers, and could be anywhere.

            Kara collapsed to her knees, between James and Oliver, feeling hopeless for the first time in a long time.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            The familiarity of slowly regaining cognizance washed over Oliver. Before he could take a moment to think, his time on the island kicked in. Oliver quickly and efficiently mentally checked over every part of his body. He tested every bone to see if it was broken, noted any of the usual clues that would indicate internal bleeding, poison, or a punctured lung.

            There was a pressure on his leg, but he assumed that was simply from his positioning. Other than a headache and a bump that he estimated would last another day and a half, he was fine.

            This self-check had become a ritual for Oliver. Every time he was knocked out, which was admittedly more often than he liked, the first thing he did upon regaining awareness was make sure he wasn’t injured. On the island, Oliver didn’t have time to think and wonder, he had to move constantly. Whether the movement was running or fighting, well, that was dependent on how his self-check went.

            His next step was always an environment check. Discreetly determine what was in the vicinity that could pose as a threat. Oliver quickly identified the familiar hushed sense of urgency of the DEO, and he allowed himself to relax slightly.

Next, he identified a steady breathing, coming from next to him. Likely the source of the pressure on his leg; someone had their feet up. Oliver studied the breathing for a moment longer, noting the lighter sound, and quickly determined the source as feminine. It was likely Kara, waiting for him to awaken. An understandable, albeit foolish move. But Oliver couldn’t help his frustration-every moment she spent fussing over him was a moment they could be looking for Zora lost.

            Oliver moved past his annoyance, and continued to survey his surroundings for danger. When he was certain that there was none, he let himself relax fully, something he still wasn’t completely used to. Oliver was better acquainted with constant tension that accompanied the island, and even his home.

            But he wasn’t on the island. Oliver could afford to process. He could take the time to wake up, instead of jolting himself awake unnaturally.

            What had happened? He was training with the group at the DEO, and he was talking to Kara when he blacked out.

            Oliver scolded himself mentally. It must have been Zora. Oh, dammit, he was stupid. He had let himself get distracted with an unknown element in the environment. Idiot. Kara had the annoying tendency to draw all of the attention in the room to her, especially as Supergirl.

            Another thought struck him, suddenly. The red sun lamp was on-that meant Kara couldn’t have defended herself.

            Oliver felt his eyes snap open, as he sat up straight on what he now realized was a DEO cot.

            As soon as his eyes opened, Oliver felt the pressure on his leg release, followed by a crash. Looking to his left, he saw Winn sprawled on the floor, with his chair tipped underneath him.

            Oliver quickly concluded that Winn had his feet up on the bed, and was balancing on the back two legs of the chair. Risky, considering Winn’s poor track record with balance.

            Oliver felt himself smirk, realizing that the breathing he had identified as a woman. Oliver found this situation amusing enough that he didn’t even chastise himself for the misidentification.

            “Winn, is everyone okay?” Oliver demanded, quickly changing trains of thought.

            “Yea, its all good. Although I think I might have a bruise on my butt tomorrow,” Winn answered, still on the floor, but now rubbing his butt.

            Oliver closed his eyes, and felt his hand clench. His previous amusement with Winn had evaporated quickly.

            “No, Winn. Kara and James. Zora attacked me first, and I need to know if they’re injured.” Oliver felt the soldier in his voice-he knew how dispassionate he sounded. It would seem to anyone who overheard him that he was trying to identify the wounded for tactical reasons. They wouldn’t know he worried. When an enemy knew whom you worried about, they knew where to hit. They knew your weakness

            He had learned that from Ivo. Well, him and Shado.

            Unfortunately, Winn also seemed to believe Oliver’s façade, despite the fact that Winn wasn’t the intended target. Looking significantly more tightly wound, Winn reported back that no one was hurt.

            “Then where is Kara?”

            “Looking for Zora, of course. Speaking of which I should let her know you’re up…” Winn whipped out his phone, and Oliver allowed himself to lean back against the bed frame. He felt a tendril of pride go through him. Kara had looked at the situation rationally, not emotionally. Still, something didn’t sit well with Oliver.

            Finally being able to use his fifth sense to take in his surroundings, he quickly noticed the contents of the room. Another routine. Oliver’s eyes stopped, however, when they reached a forgotten object next to Winn.

            “Winn,” Oliver said, getting him to look up from his phone.

            “Yes, dear,” Winn said, a goofy smile on his face. He seemed to realize who he was talking to almost immediately, and the smile was wiped off of his face as Oliver lifted an eyebrow. “I mean yes…. Sir?”

            “Why do you have a tape measure?”

            Winn paled almost imperceptibly. “Well, you see…. Okay so I noticed a couple…. I mean you look….” Winn’s eyebrows knitted together in frustration at his inability to articulate what he wanted to say. “I WANT TO MAKE A SUIT.”

            Winn closed his eyes, seemingly embarrassed.

            “Do what you like, but we need to keep the green hood. Also, you will probably need to talk to my friend Cisco. He is somewhat…. Possessive of the suit.”

            Winn nodded, but it was more of a loll of the head. Oliver leaned back again, as Winn returned to hunch over some sketching paper.

            Oliver was almost comfortable enough to close his eyes, when Kara flew into the room in a blur through the open window. She stopped short when she saw Oliver. Oliver instinctively sat up straighter, despite himself.

            “Sorry! I’m sorry! I should have been here-I had to go and look for Zora-“

            “Kara! Kara. You’re okay. Its okay. I’m fine. You did the right thing, going after Zora.”

            Kara’s face softened, and she went to claim the seat next Winn. Kara moved to grab Oliver’s hand, but seemed to stop herself.

            He didn’t know why he did it, and he didn’t really think it through, but Oliver quickly grabbed her hand, before she withdrew it completely.

            Kara met his eyes, and smiled softly. “You’re okay, right?” she said, suddenly quieter.

            “Yes. I have been through worse.”

            “Doesn’t make what you go through now any less legitimate.” Kara responded.

            Oliver had never thought about it like that. He was about to respond when Winn decided to remind them of his presence. “What… do you think…. About… this!” He said, brandishing an extravagant sketch of a suit.

            Kara smiled again at Oliver, before letting go of his hand to talk to Winn.

            It disturbed Oliver more than he cared to acknowledge that he hadn’t wanted to let go.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara adamantly ignored Oliver’s stare as she pretended to look at Winn’s sketch. She nodded in response to Winn’s enthusiastic ideas, not hearing anything he said.

            This was weird. It was dichotic. Everything about Oliver and her was dichotic. It even felt weird to pair the names together. Kara and Oliver. Oliver and Kara.

            She instinctively started chewing on her lip, applying enough pressure that a human would get a cut.

            She wouldn’t do this right now. She couldn’t do this right now. Zora was out in the world, and she had some plan. And she had answers, to the ever-unraveling mystery of Kara’s parents.

            Rao, she sounded dramatic, like some sort of soap she would watch with Alex when her sister got sick.

            But some deep, sick, selfish part of her didn’t necessarily want to catch Zora. Kara knew that catching Zora would be an effective end to Oliver’s time in National City.

            But again, she couldn’t deal with that right now.

            Oliver cleared his throat, gaining Kara’s attention and silencing Winn, whom Kara guiltily realized was still rambling about his new design.

            “So, Kara,” a weird feeling spread through her limbs, “what did you find out about Zora?”

            “Oh! That. Duh! Earth to Kara! Ha, literally,” Oliver stared at her drily. “You know, because I’m an alien?” Oliver quirked an eyebrow. “Never mind. Anyways, Zora! The big bad, the dominator the terror!”

            “Kara,” Oliver said, patiently, bringing her back on topic.

            “Right, sorry. There haven’t been any signs of her in National City, J’onn and I searched everywhere, and Clark is looking in Metropolis now.”

            “Well, where would she go?”

            “How would I know?” Kara retorted, mildly defensive.

            “Because she is new to this planet, no matter how evil she is. And you’ve been there. Where would you go, when you were new?” He said, tolerantly.

            “Well, the Fortress. It reminds me of Krypton-but Zora couldn’t have gone there. I mean she maybe heard us speak of it in passing but its hidden.”

            “Not necessarily,” Winn chimed in, reminding Kara and Oliver of his presence. He balked, slightly, when the heroes’ attentions turned to him. “Um, well, I have been going over some things while I watche – monitored Oliver,” Winn corrected himself, upon seeing Oliver’s reaction to the word watched.

            “I think she might have taken a few things on her way out of the DEO,” Winn blurted.

            Kara grew grim. “What kind of things, Winn?”

            “Well, I may have been tampering with some portable red sun emitters… And I may have left them on my desk…”

            Kara felt her back straighten, but before she could say anything, Oliver cut in.

            “Winn, what do you think you were doing? I had you make the red sun lamps as a training exercise, now someone who wants to do harm to Kara has the ability to make her human?”

            “I thought it would be good! Now Kara can go to a business meeting, and shake hands with someone without needing to worry about breaking their metacarpals. She can go on dates, and kiss guys without worrying about breaking their noses! She can get funky, if she so chooses, and I am just going to stop talking now, sorry, Kara.”

            Kara felt her cheeks flame, and refused to turn her attention to Oliver.

            When Oliver spoke again, his voice had changed, in a way that Kara refused to overanalyze. “That is very thoughtful of you, Winn. But you didn’t think about maybe putting them somewhere safe?”

            “Yea, that would have been smart. Anyways, there is information on my computer about the location of the Fortress. She could have found it.”

            “Okay, boys. What’s done is done. What we have to do now is find Zora and make sure that she can’t hurt anyone else, and figure out what she wants. I can check the fortress—“ Kara stood up.

            “Not without help,” Oliver said as he propped himself up on his forearms.

            “No you’re not. You are going to heal, I can take care of this.”

            “Kara, I came here to help you—“

            “And James,” she heard Winn mutter under his breath.

            “And I am not going to let you rush into something where you could get hurt, by yourself. Now, Zora hasn’t shown interest in hurting humans, so I think you can afford to wait a day while the headache fades, and you can get some rest.”

            Kara stared at Oliver. He stared back. She couldn’t win this, she knew it. He was too stubborn.

            “Fine! Fine. You win. I will wait. But you owe me Oliver Jonas Queen.”

            Oliver gave a soft smile, but it was interrupted by Winn snorting “Jonas? Like Kevin?”

            “Ugh, Winn your favorite _would_ be Kevin.”

            Kara and Winn continued to argue about the best Jonas brother for the following 30 minutes, while Oliver seemed content to rest his eyes and sit with them.

            When Kara felt enough time had passed, she informed the boys that she intended to change.

            The twang of guilt that she felt as she flew towards the fortress was not entirely unexpected.


	18. Chapter 18

_Kara Zor-El_

Well, this was a new feeling.

Kara was unaccustomed to the guilt that accompanied lying. She had told little white lies before, telling someone their outfit looked good, or that one time Alex had gotten that horrible pixie cut that looked more like a bowl cut, but this was new. Kara had deliberately and expressly lied. And to Oliver.

            She didn’t even know how she lied to Oliver, his stupid, hyper focused blue eyes made it nearly impossible.

            Kara was definitely taking her time getting to the Fortress. She had already contemplated turning back twice. She knew that she was disregarding everything Oliver taught her about going into a situation with a plan, but this was different.

            Kara would be the first to admit that she sounded dramatic, but she truly felt that this was something she had to do alone. Zora had a vendetta against her; it was an alien thing.

            Zora had information about her parents. Zora had answers to questions that Kara had been asking since she first found out Alura was alive and on earth. Questions she thought would never be answered once her aunt died.

            No matter what her parents had done, they were still her parents, and their legacy passed to Kara. She had to right their wrongs, and she had to know the truth behind those wrongs.

            Even if Oliver didn’t understand-but Kara had a feeling he would. He probably wouldn’t have been as impulsive as Kara, and acted on his whim, but he would understand.

            And Kara knew Oliver would understand, because she understood him, and she was confident the feeling was mutual. Kara smiled to herself, thinking about how far they’d come since that day in Star City. She loved how seamlessly they worked together, how she didn’t doubt herself around him anymore. He made her a better hero, and she thought, or she hoped that she did the same for him.

            Kara sped up, resolutely looking in front of her. He would understand, and he wasn’t important. Not right now.

 

            Soon enough, Kara landed in front of the Fortress.

            Her eyebrows furrowed in anger; the Fortress had been sullied too often. It was the last piece of Krypton that she had, it was hers and it was Clarks. There had been too many battles fought there. She would do her best to make sure this battle with the Kandorian would be the last.

            Her brow smoothed. Kandorian. Zora was Kandorian, meaning she was from Krypton. The Fortress belonged to Zora just as much as it belonged to the House of El.

            Kara made to speed into the fortress, when a little, grumpy voice in her head reminded her to check the place out, first.

            Smiling lightly, Kara x-rayed the fortress, and saw the figure of Zora, alone, in the Fortress.

            Both the voice and Kara satisfied, she cautiously unlocked the door, and entered.

            “Zora. I don’t know what my mom did to you, but I want to make things right. Let’s talk.” Kara said to announce her arrival.

            Zora’s back was to Kara, and she was floating, examining the statue of Jor-El. “You know, back in Kandor, I was an inventor. When I wasn’t doing my…. Extracurricular activities, as the humans say.” Zora flew to the back of Jor-El, so she was facing Kara. “I was always better at tinkering with things than speaking.”

            Before Kara had time to truly analyze what she meant, she felt something hit the back of her head, and she lost consciousness.

 

_Oliver Queen_

            When Oliver woke up again, it was thankfully without a headache.

            He performed his habitual environment checks, and quickly concluded that he was still in the infirmary at the DEO, with Winn and James to keep him company.

            Oliver was torn between smiling at the argument his friends were having (James was accusing Winn of making Oliver a better suit than the Guardian’s), or grimacing at their presence.

            The fact that Oliver accepted that they had become friends, didn’t change his enjoyment of alone time.

            With a silence learned from years of sneaking around Lian Yu, Oliver rose from his bed, and snuck to the bathroom.

            He quickly splashed some water on his face, and used the mirror to assess any further injuries he may have missed.

            After confirming that there were none, Oliver quickly donned his green leather.

            Stepping out of the restroom, he cleared his throat. Both James and Winn jumped up from their seats.

            Winn even put his hand up in a flimsy salute.

            “Oliver! Man, what are you doing up? You’re supposed to be resting,” James said by greeting.

            “I’ve been asleep for hours,             I’m fine. How are you feeling?” Oliver asked James.

            “I’m fine, just a hit on the head, I don’t think she tried that hard.”

            “Probably didn’t see you as much of a threat,” Winn mumbled to himself. A sharp glare from James sent him back to his laptop.

            Oliver ignored them. “Where is Kara?”

            “Oh, I don’t know-she said she was going to change, maybe she went back to her place to take a nap? Or she went back to Catco?” Winn answered.

            A pit settled in Oliver’s stomach. Of course she wouldn’t wait. What else had he expected? That’s exactly what he would have done when he was starting out. Oliver clenched his fist, and closed his eyes, quickly formulating a plan.

            “Um, Oliver? Care to fill us in?” James broke through his train of thought.

            “She went after Zora, and we are going to go after her.”

            Winn stood up, “Oliver you cant. I know you can fight with the big boys, but Zora will still have her powers, the red sun emitters will be contained to Kara. There is no way you can win, even if James goes with you.”

            “I know that. Winn I need you to go grab the extra red sun emitter, James, you get dressed, I need to make a call.”

 

 

_Winn Schott_

            When Winn returned, he found Oliver and James standing in front of a portal.

            Oliver turned to Winn, “Okay, Winn, we are going to the fortress. We are going to help Kara for as long as we can, but we need help. We don’t have time to find J’onn and Alex, but I do have some friends, and I know exactly where they are. I need you’re help, Kara needs you’re help.”

            Winn’s eyes widened as he nodded, meekly.

            “You’re going to use the interdimensional extrapolator our friend made, and you are going to take it to Earth 1. You will find yourself in a place called Star Labs, probably surrounded by people. These are friends of mine, and friends of Barry’s. get Vibe and get Barry, and get back here as fast as you can. We need more powers, and we need it now.”

            Winn mutely nodded once again, exchanging the red sun emitter for the device in Oliver’s hand.

            “Good luck,” were Oliver’s only parting words as he left the room.

            “You can do this, Winn. We’re counting on you.” James patted Winn on the shoulder, before following Oliver out.

            “Okay, byeeeeee” Winn managed to squeak out, a good two minutes after the heroes had departed.


	19. Bonus Chapter!

_Cisco Ramon_

            Cisco Ramon was bored. He was often bored, his mind was so often active, with little to entertain it, but this felt like an entirely new level.

            All of his friends were busy. Caitlin was off doing some medical research, Barry was on a date with Iris, and Gypsy was off hunting some dimension hopper.

            Cisco’s boredom momentarily snagged at the thought of his girlfriend. He couldn't help imagining her fighting some dirtbag, kicking his ass. Damn, she was cool.

            The moment of awe passed quickly, and his head rolled back as a groan escaped.

            Normally, he would be working on a suit, or a new toy for the supers. But he had made all of the updates he could for those who were “unavailable,” i.e. the legends and Arrow, and Barry’s suit had been updated so recently, there wasn’t much more he could do. And as for the toys, well, he felt rather uninspired due to the monotonous tone his life had taken on, even in the face of all the metas.

            So, in the face of insurmountable boredom, Cisco resorted to one of his favorite past times, vibing random things on his desk.

            First, a pencil – he saw the factory, a man was on the phone in the background, where it sounded like he was begging his significant other not to leave him.

            Next an apple – he saw an old farmer with a basket, picking apples with a young boy.

            How about a stapler – he saw another factory, this time with nothing interesting.

            Right before he was going to leave the vibe, he was jarred out of the factory by an alarm.

            His back straightened, attention focused on the issue, and immediately checked his computer to see what the disturbance was. Someone had opened a portal in the basement.

            He was on his feet before he had time to process what was happening – hopefully, Gypsy had collected her bounty early, or maybe Oliver had finally comeback from Earth 38. After a brief debate, he decided not to call Barry, at least, not yet.

            The portal was still open when he got to the basement, and just as he came to a stand still, a foot came through, and froze.

            Cisco’s eyebrows knitted. That was a first, inter dimensional travel was usually very... purposeful. People usually came through in a panic.

            The foot finally seemed to make a decision, and a young man in a button up shirt and cardigan stepped through.

            The man didn't immediately notice Cisco. He was frozen, standing in front of Cisco visibly nervous, wringing his hands together around something that Cisco couldn’t see, but he also seems to be endlessly fascinated, drinking everything about the lab in.

            “Hey!” Cisco yells to get his attention. The stranger jumps, eyes snapping to Cisco, “what do you think you’re doing here?”

            “Hi, hello. Hi. I – I am Winn! It’s nice to meet you. Wow sorry! This is crazy cool, is this a force-field generator? And what tech is that?” The stranger asks, pointing to the glasses still in Cisco’s hands.

            “What? No! You don’t get to ask questions! This is my earth, man, I ask the questions,” Cisco was incredulous. This random guy showed up to Cisco’s lab and thought he could ask questions first. Hell no!

            “Right! Sorry. Right. My name is Winslow Schott Jr., and, wait, you don’t have my dad here, right? Winslow Schott Sr.” Cisco shook his head, exasperated. Winn looked relieved. “Okay, good. You’d know if you did – and that is not the kind of legacy I want to take to another world.”

            “Dude, come on. Answers!”

            “Right, I just get nervous and ramble. My name is Winn Schott, I work with Supergirl and she needs the Flash’s help. And someone named Vibe.” Winn showed Cisco the device in his hands. 

            Upon seeing the device to open portals that he had given Kara, Cisco relaxed slightly, before asking, “Is Kara okay? And I’m Vibe – I’ll get Barry here,” Cisco pressed the non-emergency call button on his phone, calling Barry here.

            “She’s fine – or at least I hope she is. For now. Your name is Vibe?”

            “No, my name is Cisco,” some recognition passed over Winn, but Cisco continued, “my hero name is Vibe, because I – well, I vibe things.”

            “Cisco, you’re Cisco?” Cisco nodded. “Okay, well I need to tell you, that costume is great, but I do have a couple of tweaks—“

            Cisco interrupted, “Hey, my costumes are flawless, and I have actually made quite a few, so you’re gonna need to specify.”

            “Oliver’s! The Arrows!” Winn answered, eyes going wide. “You’ve made more than – how many have you made?”

            “Okay, first of all, my suit is flawless. As for how many suits, well lets see,” Cisco started counting on his fingers. “The Arrow’s, the Flash’s, Kid Flash’s, Firestorm’s, Speedy’s, Arsenal’s, Spartan’s, all of the Black Canary’s, and White Canary’s. I think that’s it.”

            Winn’s jaw had dropped. “Okay, that’s amazing. We only have Supergirl and Superman and Guardian on our earth, man we need to exchange notes!”

            Cisco was starting to let his guard down, becoming invested in the conversation, discussing each earth's heroes, when Barry sped in.

            “Cisco, what’s up, you know I was – Winn? Is everything alright?”

            “Um, not really.” Winn glanced at Cisco before continuing.

            “It’s okay, Winn, he’s my friend. What’s going on?”

            “Well its kind of a long story, we have another friend, well she isn’t really a friend, I mean Oliver did invite her to game night but—“

            Cisco cut him off, “Oliver? Oliver Queen? At game night? Casually?”

            Winn looked at him, “yea—Oliver Jonas Queen at game night. He is really good at Candy Land.” Cisco’s eyebrows raised, ready to make a joke about all of this new information, but Winn steadfastly continued, “but that’s not important. This Kryptonian, Zora turned out to have known Kara’s mom and she hates Kara and she, well, long story short she has a way to take Kara’s powers, and Kara went after her—“

            This time, Barry cut Winn off, “alone? Kara went after her alone? What about Oliver?”

            Winn huffed, at being cut off again. “Oliver was asleep, recovering, before you ask he is fine, just a minor head wound. But we are going to have two humans and a Kryptonian without any powers fighting someone with powers, and they don’t stand a chance unless they get some on their side.”

            “Some what?” Cisco asked, stepping up to Barry and Winn.

            “Some powers. Supergirl needs the Flash, and she needs Vibe.”

            Barry and Cisco exchanged looks. They didn’t need to discuss, they both knew what they had to do.

            Before Winn or Cisco could blink, Barry had whipped out his phone and sent two texts; one to Iris and one to Joe, explaining.

            “Lets go.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Who saw the crossover tonight!?!?!  
> Okay, as everyone knows, I am a big SuperArrow fan, but tbh that Kara Oliver kiss made me feel weirddddd.  
> But I am obsessed with it.  
> Also, uh how did I call the kryptonite arrows, Kara's claustrophobia, and the Kara Oliver relationship?!?!?!

_Kara Zor-El_

            Kara felt like there was a speaker playing EDM in her head. Everything ached in a new and unwelcomed way.

            Kara’s eyes scrunched in pain – she pinch the bridge of her nose with her fingers, but found her wrist as being held down.

            She jerked slightly, instinctively moving to get up and fight, before she thought better of it. What would Oliver do? He would assess this situation, and then act. Kara forced her features to smooth out, and focused on listening. She tried to pick up the sound of heartbeats, hoping to figure out if Zora had made any friends, and to see how far she was – Oliver and Kara had been working on using her super hearing to determine where people were, in a personalized type of echolocation.

            Just like they practiced, Kara subtly sighed. An act that anyone could do; something that no one would find suspicious.

            The calculating calm Kara had been trying to adopt vanished unnervingly quickly. She couldn’t hear anything more than normal. A little bit of shuffling, but nothing specific. Her super hearing wasn’t working.

            Okay. This was okay. She should… she should test her other powers.

           Semi-panicked, Kara tried using her x-ray vision through her eyelids. Nothing.

            Kara’s breathing became unsteady. Suddenly, she could no longer feel the cold slab of what was likely the Fortress under her. The fresh air was gone. Suddenly, Kara was 12 years old again, and stuck in a pod. She was scared and alone. Her breathing deepened, and she felt the walls closing in.

            She needed – she needed to breathe, she needed to escape, she needed move, and see more than just her dying planet and her dying family.

            Her family was gone. She was alone and lost. She wanted to scream but her voice was gone. She had no family. She had no one.

            “Well, that’s just not true.” Kara knew that voice. She would know that voice anywhere. Kara forced herself to look up, and met familiar brown eyes. Her sister squatted in front of her. She was no longer in the pod, but she could still feel it closing in, still feel the panic.

            “You’re not alone. You’re never alone. You know that. If you’re alone, then I’m alone, Kara.” Alex’s eyes were kind and full of hope as they evenly met Kara’s watery gaze.

            Winn sat down next to Alex. “You have a family here, Kara.”

            James came next, “we may not be related by blood, but that doesn’t mean we are any less real or love you any less.”

            J’onn squatted on Alex’s other side, “we both lost our families, our worlds. That doesn’t mean that we can’t find new ones.”

            Kara felt the tears start to flow, as she began to force herself to steady her breath.

            Eliza and Jeremiah approached next, and Eliza cupped Kara’s cheek as she said “we love you, Kara, and just because we didn’t meet until you were 12 doesn’t make you any less our daughter.”

            “We both made it off of Krypton, so Krypton and the house of El survive, through us.” Clark joined the group of Kara’s loved ones.

            “Get up, Kara. You can do this. Focus, and stand.” Oliver was the last to join the group, approaching as Kara’s breath finally steadied.

            The cold Fortress felt real again. She could do this. Oliver was human, and could figure out a situation just as well as any superhero.

            Kara took a deep breath in, and listened. She couldn’t hear the wind as it swept the snow outside, she couldn’t hear the birds from miles away, but she could hear enough. Zora was still, but Kara could hear her breathing deeply. She was working on something, the nature of which Kara couldn’t pinpoint.

            If Zora had wanted to kill her, she would have already.

            In her mind, she turned back to the group of loved ones, who were with her, always. In her mind, Oliver gave her a solemn and decisive nod.

            Kara opened her eyes.

            The light stung, but she adjusted quickly enough.

            She looked down at her arms, to see that they were bound together intricately with rope.

            But she only focused on that briefly. Her attention was pulled toward the bracelet that she had on, that she wasn’t wearing when she arrived. There was a glowing red disc embedded in it, and it seemed to be welded on.

            Kara couldn’t help but smirk at the annoying irony of needed super strength to remove the item that took away her super strength.

            Next, Kara moved her eyes towards where she knew Zora was.

            Zora was seated, working over something that looked like “Kalex!”

            Zora barely flinched.

            “You fixed Kalex!” Kara continued.

            “I did.” Zora said with her slight accent. She shifted, facing Kara. “I, of course, made some improvements, and made it slightly more… agreeable.”

            Kalex must have knocked her out. That’s why Kara didn’t notice anyone else; she wouldn’t have heard Kalex’s heartbeat, because it didn’t have one.

            “Very original, using the same gimmick twice. You know, it’s a cheap shot to knock someone out from behind.”

            “What is the saying on this planet? If it’s not broken, do not break it?”

            “Was any of it true, Zora? We just wanted to help you make a life here.”

            Zora turned on Kara, as quick as lightning. “A life I did not want, Kara Zor-El.”

            Zora took a deep breath, turning back to Kalex. “As for any of it being true, yes. I am from the great Kandorian house of Vi-Lar. And I did have a sister.”

            Kara’s tensed eyebrows softened at the use of past tense.

            “What happened.”

            “Your mother happened. And my arrogance. And her stupid kindness. The family dynamics I explained were true. There was one good sister, and one not so good. I spent my youth being coddled, overshadowed by my perfect younger sister. I never resented her for it, no I loved her too much for that. It was my parents and their hypocrisy I resented.

            “So, I turned to less than accepted activities. I began hacking and sabotaging them. Anything they did, I brought down. It was limited to them at first, however, I learned that I liked the chaos, savored it. And, as it turns out, I am very, very good at it. I quickly became one of the most notorious criminals on all of Krypton.”

            Kara couldn’t help but notice the hint of pride in Zora’s words. “If you were so notorious, how did I not hear of you? I may have been young, but I was the daughter of diplomats. I tended to know these things.”

            “You probably heard of me, but by my other name. You go out to your world and become Supergirl? I went out and became the Black Flame.”

            Kara’s blood ran cold. She had, indeed, heard of the Black Flame. She was notorious on Krypton, but Kara’s parents had shielded her from any information other than the name. “You’re the Black Flame?”

Zora smiled sadistically. “So you have heard of me. Good. Well, I got arrogant, and I got messy, and the government was closing in on me. And my sister, she had to go and over shadow me again. She turned herself in as the Black Flame. She took the blame for me. She knew all of the details of the crimes, she was my sister, after all, and I told her everything.

“Your mother banished her to the Phantom Zone, and my sister, who would have never hurt anyone, went. Without an argument. All to keep me safe.”

            Kara understood, at least a bit. She would do anything for Alex.

            “I knew she wouldn’t last long. Its kill or be killed in the Phantom Zone, and I knew my sister wouldn’t kill anyone, and I didn’t want her to. I wouldn’t let her tarnish herself for me. So, I snuck into the building where they store the portal to the Phantom Zone and followed her.”

            Zora turned around, hiding her face from Kara. Kara bit her lip, a sick idea of where the story was going.

            “I was too late. She had been murdered, days ago. Her clothes were torn, and everything valuable was taken. Including the pendent of the House of Vi-Lar. The most precious artifact from my house, gone. And I was stuck there, alone, in the place my sister was murdered. And then one day, I see the daughter of the very woman who killed her, in stasis. I saw the trajectory of where you were going, and when I found out what happened to Krypton, to Kandor,” Zora choked up, and against every bit of common sense, everything Oliver had taught her, Kara had the strongest impulse to comfort her.

            “Zora…”

            Zora silenced her with a glare, and swallowed. “When I found out what happened to Kandor, I knew you were the last chance I had at getting justice for my sister. I knew your mother would watch from the stars as I took the power you cherish so reverently, and destroyed you. First by spirit, then by blood.”

           Kara inhaled deeply, weighing her words. “Zora, I am so sorry. I know what it is like to lose those most important to you. If your sister had stayed on Krypton, she would have died too—“

            “But we would have died together!” Zora roared, moving so her face was inches away from Kara’s.

            “You’re right. And you’re right about my mother. She was… far from perfect. But I am not my mom. And killing me wont do anything – it wont bring your sister back.”

            “You think I don’t know that?!” Zora spat. “Of course it wont bring my sister back. My sister, your mother – they’re long dead. And we are still here, alone. They left us alone. I don’t want to hurt you to bring her back, Kara. I want to hurt you, because you’re an arrogant, obnoxious brat, and I really think it will make me feel better.”

            Zora bent down, so she was talking right in Kara’s ear. “Maybe, after you’re just a little dead, I will go and get your sister, and your friends Winn and James, and your precious Oliver. And you’ll get to watch me torture them.” Zora paused, considering. “Although, maybe I will save Oliver for last – he is cute. I bet I could get him to help me.”

            As Zora turned away, Kara felt a red wash over her vision, like nothing she’s ever felt before. Maybe this was what Oliver felt like when in the Arrow Haze.

            “As for now, I will just have the pleasure of torturing you.”

            Zora returned with a lead glove, and a glowing green syringe.

            “Now, Kara, this may sting a bit.”

            Kara idly wondered if anyone heard her scream.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my friend Jamie for helping me write the fight scene in this chapter and the next! I'd give you her info, but she doesn't really have any! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Chapter 20**

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            It took all of Oliver’s self control to not hit the target he wanted. He had heard the screams the moment he and James left the plane they… borrowed… from the D.E.O. But he wouldn’t attack unless prompted. He had to give her a chance. Despite this, the self imposed restraint made Oliver yearn for the early days of being the Arrow, miss shooting first and asking questions later.

            So he used a regular arrow, as opposed to the ones he had asked Winn for, and hit some sort of robot that Zora was working on, instead of Zora herself.

            Zora spun quickly, easily finding where Oliver crouched for a better vantage point.

            “I just fixed him,” she snapped.

            Oliver stood, and jumped off of the elevated rock, tucking his knees to his chest before he neatly landed on the floor 15 feet below where he had been.

            “Next one goes in you,” Oliver growled, using the Arrow voice, less for anonymity as for intimidation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Guardian sneaking towards Kara.

            He wondered again if he had made the right call, if he should be the one to free Kara while James distracted Zora. He could have been stealthier, quicker. But, no. He needed his stealth here, too, if they were going to follow the plan.

            “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t put this arrow through your eye?”

            “Because it would do you no good? What is an arrow against a Kryptonian?” Zora raised her arms in triumph.

            They began circling each other, Oliver with his bow aimed at all times, careful to keep Zora’s back to where James had just reached Kara, and was now trying to free her. “Zora, don’t make me hurt you.”

            “You couldn’t if you tried,” she smirked.

            “You obviously didn’t spend enough time with Winn if you think we didn’t find a way to fight Kryptonians. Kryptonite arrows.”

            “Ah, yes. Kryptonite arrows, very smart, Oliver. But all of that exposed kryptonite, would that not weaken dear Kara as well? The red sun may take her powers, but it doesn’t change her physiology. And who knows how long a powerless Kryptonian would survive when faced with the remnants of our world.”

            Now it was Oliver’s turn to smirk. “Which is why they are cased in led, the tips only opening on impact.”

            “Yet you still run the risk of missing, hitting precious, fragile Kara.”

            “We haven’t known each other long, Zora, but I am surprised you haven’t learned. I don’t miss.” Oliver noted James helping Kara to her feet, but had no time to stop them before Zora turned in their direction to examine the arrow still in the robot.

            Her heat vision was already shooting towards the duo when Oliver released an arrow, hitting Zora in the leg. James jumped to one side, pushing Kara to the other.

            Oliver ran and slid to Kara, catching her before she hit the floor.

            He noticed the shallow cut on Zora’s leg; she had moved before any real damage could be done. She was already healing. James slowly stood to face her.

            He was about to get up to help, but Kara pulled his hood.

            “Learn that on the island?” She said, smiling lightly.

            He grinned back, “no, that I learned from middle school baseball. How are you feeling?

            Tears began to pool in her eyes, but her smile remained. “You came. After I left, and lied. You still came.”

            “Of course, I came. That’s what you do when… when you’re a hero.” He said, finishing his sentence differently than he intended. “Rest, Kara. James and I can handle this.”

            Kara began to prop herself up, opening her mouth to rebuke him.

            “You’re not used to fighting this way, as a human. It’s okay, we have a plan.”

            He gave her one last reassuring smile, before gently resting her head on the ground, and getting up to join James.

            The two heroes faced Zora, side by side with a few feet between them to give them room to move. Oliver held his bow loosely in his left hand, itching to grab one of his remaining kryptonite arrows but knowing that with Zora facing him head-on, there was little chance of it actually hitting her before she used her speed to get out of the way. This fight would have to go more like one of his training sessions with Barry…

            “Two humans with one weapon and one shield between them? Pathetic.” Zora turned to examine the robot again, seeming to dismiss them.

            Moving quickly, Oliver pulled a different arrow from his quiver, indicating with a jerk of his head that James should start circling around towards their opponent from the other side.

            “The weapons aren’t the most important thing in a fight, but…” Oliver loosed his arrow, watching with satisfaction as it hit the robot and exploded, sending flaming scraps of metal towards Zora’s face. He smirked inside his hood as she reeled backwards. “... But they certainly make it more fun.”

            The Kryptonian spun towards him, snarling. Oliver, who had started running towards her immediately after releasing the arrow, was at the perfect distance to hit her across the face with his bow. He quickly followed with a straight punch to her chin, hoping that she was unbalanced enough to fall backwards into the still-smoldering remains of the robot.

            Unfortunately, Zora was able to recover with just a small stumble, leaving Oliver up-close and personal with a pissed off, super-powered alien woman who thrust her fist onto his chest, sending him flying into one of the many stalagmites in the fortress.

            He groaned, levering himself to his feet as she approached him again. Ignoring his bruised back, Oliver pulled two arrows from his quiver. He was thankful that the island had trained him to never drop his weapons (unless they were sharp and he was going to land on them, but that didn’t really apply when he only carried a bow).

            He shot the first arrow at the woman stalking towards him, unsurprised when she turned her whole body to dodge the projectile. It was something he’d seen from people with superspeed before, like they just had to watch things travel past them instead of moving a few inches to the side and trusting whatever was being shot at them to continue moving in a straight line like it always did.

            Oliver was ready for her, releasing his second arrow - kryptonite, this time - just as she was starting to turn back. She was actually a touch slower than he had anticipated from years of knowing Barry, resulting in the arrow sinking into the upper right side of her chest.

He cursed, knowing that it would have been more debilitating if it had struck her closer to her heart. Still, Zora staggered back a few steps, sinking to her knees as her hands rose to clutch at the arrow that was sticking out of her, the crystal tip interfering with her powers and making her weak. Oliver drew another kryptonite arrow, aiming it at her as he approached.

Despite it being the right move under the circumstances, Oliver was still shocked to see her grab the shaft with her right hand, her left pushing back against her shoulder, and her pale face set in determination as she quickly but carefully pulled the the arrow out.

Keeping his aim on the kneeling woman still a few feet in front of him, Oliver glanced past her to see James - Guardian - getting into position close behind her, presumably using Zora’s momentary lack of super-hearing to his advantage.

Oliver spoke as she finally finished pulling the bloody arrow from her body, leaving it dangling from her fingers. “Don’t make me do this, Zora. You can have a life here, find a way to live on this planet in peace.”

“I don’t _want_ peace. I certainly don’t want to live among you idiotic humans, masquerading as one of you like your dear Kara does.” She pulled herself slowly to her feet, glaring at the man in front of her. “What I _do_ want, Oliver, is for you to get out of my way and let me finally get justice for my sister.” Emotion twisted her face as she took a slow step towards him.

Not particularly sure of what she was talking about, Oliver still knew for a fact that he would never let this woman hurt Kara to get whatever twisted form of justice she was searching for. He pulled back the bowstring another inch. “That’s not going to happen.”

With a cry, Zora leapt forward before he could react, stabbing down with the arrow still in her grip so it cut through Oliver’s leather pants and sank into his leg. It was a fairly shallow wound, but it was more than enough to get him to flinch. That was all the opening Zora needed to knock the arrow from his right hand and tear the bow from his left with her newly-restored strength. Not yet recovered enough to break it in half, she threw the weapon across the room and turned back to grip Oliver by his collar, pulling him up so his toes barely brushed the floor.

“And do you really think you can stop me?”

 

_Kara Zor-El_

 

Kara pulled herself to her feet, leaning against the rock she had been seated on. She turned to watch the fight and started to smile as she saw Oliver get in two solid hits against Zora. Her expression dropped, however, when the man was thrown nearly a dozen feet into one of the rocks sticking up from the floor.

She wanted to go to him, to stand between him and his opponent, but once he started to stand for himself and reach for his quiver she knew she could trust him to take care of himself. He’d certainly proven it to her over and over again in the time she’d known him.

Instead, she turned her gaze to the rest of the fortress, searching for James. Under her breath, she cursed her lack of powers, wishing she could use her hearing or x-ray vision to find her friend. Finally, she saw him getting close to a downed Zora from behind.

Kara straightened and took a determined step in the direction of the group. Zora was on her knees with a kryptonite arrow in her shoulder, Arrow in front of her with another aimed, and Guardian behind her looking ready for anything. The other woman had no way out of this. It was time to finish their conversation.

Kara really needed to stop underestimating her opponents. She watched in horror as Zora somehow recovered enough strength to close the distance between herself and Oliver and stab him in the leg, throw his weapons out of reach, and pick him up.

Desperate to go to his aid, but knowing she would be too slow because of the _stupid_ red sun bracelet that she was really starting to hate, Kara nevertheless began to run towards them.

She paused, breathless, as Guardian came from behind Zora and grabbed her shoulder to spin her towards him. She dropped Oliver and turned, blocking the knee James aimed at her side. His right hand came up again, this time managing to land a punch on her face. Barely fazed, Zora struck out with her own fist, denting his helmet and sending him stumbling back a step. She followed up with another punch, this one blocked by his shield, which he then tried to swing towards her face. Instead of ducking, Zora stepped to the side and grabbed James’s extended arm, throwing them in the direction of his thrust. He tumbled into another stalagmite… and didn’t move.

“No!” Kara gasped. She started to close the distance between her and Zora as the woman turned back to the rising Oliver, wishing there had been a treadmill to practice on in the training room at the DEO. Running without her strength or speed was _hard_ and seriously exhausting to her already tormented body, but she wasn’t going to let Zora keep hurting her friends.

She was too late. She heard the snap of Oliver’s leg, even with her human ears. Rao, James probably heard it in his unconsciousness.

            She couldn’t help but scream his name.

            She watched, frozen in horror and disbelief.

            Zora crouched over Oliver, grabbing his collar and pulling him towards her so their noses were almost touching. Kara couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it seemed like Oliver was… playing along? Bantering, even. That wasn’t right. It couldn’t be. Oliver doesn’t engage in conversation all that willingly when he is himself, and less so when he is dress as the Arrow.

            Kara watched in horror as Zora forcefully kissed Oliver. She noted his face scrunching, eyebrows knitting, but he didn’t pull away. Why wouldn’t he pull away?

            A plan; Oliver said they had a plan…

            Kara tore her eyes from Zora and Oliver, and noticed what she hadn’t before.

            Oliver had stealthily snuck a red sun emitter on to Zora’s wrist.

            Kara noticed the exact moment that he activated it. He saw the energy drain almost instantaneously.

            Oliver had made her human; he had just been too late to do it when he had been fighting Zora.

            Zora pushed him away, her eyes drawn to the device.

            “What did you do? What did you do, you filthy human?!”

            “I evened the playing field.” Oliver’s eyes met Kara’s. He nodded, determination and belief on his face.

            Belief… Belief in Kara. Belief in what he taught her, and belief in who she was. She can do this.

            “Kara,” he said, eerily familiar to her dream earlier, “get up.”

            She nodded, resolve on her face, and slowly rose to her feet.

            Zora stood, and turned to face Kara.

            The red sun emitters on both of their wrists glowed faintly in the dim fortress.

            “Now it’s an even fight,” Kara said, shrugging.

            She ran towards Zora.

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 21**

 

_Kara Zor-El_

 

            Kara faced off with her now equally-weak foe, but she took the opportunity provided in the few moments before fists started flying to analyze the space around her, just as Oliver had urged her to do over and over again when they went out in the field. She took note of the nearby juts of rock sticking out from the ground and ceiling, she skimmed over the remains of poor, destroyed Kalex, and schooled her expression into neutrality as she watched Oliver subtly maneuver himself from where he had fallen towards James’s unconscious body.

            “You egotistical child. You’ve spent too much time with your precious humans. You think I need strength or speed to defeat _you_? I was fighting under Krypton’s red sun long before we ended up on this dull, idiotic planet!” Zora’s words drew Kara’s gaze back to her, and she saw that Zora looked wary despite her words.

            Kara raised her arms protectively in front of her, keeping her fists loose as she glared at the other woman. “You hurt my _friends_! I gave you a chance to start over here, to let Earth be a new beginning for you, to have a new home and you _hurt my friends_!”

            She closed the distance between them, tightening her fists and swinging wildly at her opponent’s face. She almost ignored Oliver’s voice, but habit had her paying attention to his order: “Don’t fight angry, Supergirl, fight _smart_.”

            Acknowledging that he probably had a point, even if she hated being bossed around, Kara made sure to keep her left arm raised and her feet positioned so she wouldn’t leave herself wide open when her fist fell.

            It was a good thing she did, because Zora was apparently still fast enough to block her punch with her own right arm crossing her body and hammering into Kara’s wrist, then immediately snapping her fist back towards Kara’s face.

            Slightly stunned at the pain she felt, Kara was nevertheless glad that it hadn’t sent her staggering backwards, and she was able to reach out despite her blurred vision, grab a fistful of Zora’s hair in her left hand, and use it to yank the other woman off balance.

            She smirked as Zora yelled out. It had taken her a few days in the beginning to figure out that when Oliver said “fight smart,” he mostly meant “fight dirty.”

            Shaking out her bruised right arm while keeping Zora bent over backwards with her grip on the other woman’s hair, Kara pulled down more firmly with her left hand as she pivoted in slightly, using her right arm to shove Zora down to the floor.

            She raised her foot to knock over the growling woman. Kara’s eyes flew wide as her opponent grabbed the raised limb and pulled on it, sweeping the planted leg with her own and sending Kara crashing down to the floor.

            As she broke her fall, Kara reflected that she was really, _really_ glad Oliver had taught her how to fall properly for when she wouldn’t have super strength to keep her body from breaking when it came in contact with really hard things like walls and rocky floors. At first she had thought the lesson was ridiculous - isn’t the point to _not_ fall? - but after he lectured her on not underestimating her opponents and threw her on the training room floor six times in a row (and one time against a wall) with barely any effort, she finally decided that maybe it would be better to learn how to make it hurt less.

            As Kara groaned and rolled to her side, pausing for air before she attempted to stand up, Zora got to her feet and glared at the glowing bracelet clamped around her wrist. She fiddled with it, trying to figure out how to take it off.

            Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kara caught her breath, and quickly scrambled to her feet and lunged towards the distracted woman. Zora was clearly expecting this, though, and she swung around with her fist swinging for her opponent’s head.

            “Duck!” Kara was already dropping to the floor at Oliver’s sharp call, then glanced angrily in his direction.

            “I’ve _got_ this, Oliver!” She vaguely noticed that her bossy trainer had gotten James sitting up, leaning against the stalagmite that had broken his fall. Kara only allowed herself a moment of relief that he was alright, she refocused on the fight.

            Without standing fully, Kara launched herself into Zora’s legs, tackling her to the ground and landing half on top of her.

            Realizing she was in a bad position, Kara tried to rise, but Zora had managed to slip one of her legs out and use the newly freed foot to shove her off, sending her rolling.

            For a moment, they both stayed on their backs, panting.

            And then that stalemate ended, and the two Kryptonian women stood, eyeing each other warily. Neither had really had to deal with lasting bruises in a long time, and they were certainly feeling the ache.

            They circled each other, Kara’s eyes glancing about the fortress to find something she could use to her advantage. Oliver managed to win nearly all of his fights with only human strength and ingenuity. And weapons, but he always said that you couldn’t always go around armed and sometimes you just have to make do with whatever’s around you. It wasn’t something Kara had ever needed before, but in this fight, she would need the advantage. But what… _there_.

            Barely stopping herself from grinning, Kara moved in, herding Zora in a particular direction.

            Exactly as planned, as Zora stumbled over a piece of Kalex and looked down in surprise, Kara sprang to the left and triumphantly scooped up Oliver’s bow. The man himself was near enough to toss his quiver in her direction.

            She reached out her right arm, and caught it by the strap.

            Snatching up an arrow at random, she put it to the string, drew back her arm, and turned to aim at Zora. “You have failed this ci-… um, planet.”

            Well that could have sounded more confident, but Kara was sure she had the upper hand now. The other woman had no choice but to surrender.

            Zora apparently thought she had a choice, and ran straight at Kara. Her eyes widened, and she panicked, releasing the arrow instinctively. It flew straight… for about 7 inches, and then it arched uselessly to the floor.

            Kara blushed, but didn’t have time to dwell as Zora got close enough to kick out, trying to knock the bow from her hands. She clenched her fingers around the weapon tighter, the way she had seen Oliver do a thousand times, with or without the instrument. Refusing to drop the bow, she instead brought it swinging up to hit Zora right in the temple.

            Zora dropped to the floor, and Kara followed, sending her free fist into the woman’s face and knocking her to the floor.

            Kara once again aimed an arrow at Zora, as she looked up and into Kara’s eyes.

            “Don’t. Move.” She said in a growl that would make Oliver proud… and probably scare Winn.

            “What? Or you’ll shoot the floor?” Zora made to get up, and Kara took a deep breath in, drawing back the string. She exhaled, releasing the arrow with her breath, and instinctively closed her eyes.

            Realizing the idiocy of the action, she quickly opened them again, to find an arrow in Zora’s thigh.

            “Stay down, Zora,” Kara said, although she was pretty sure that Zora wouldn’t move, due to the amount of blood leaving her thigh.

            She… had done it. She had done it! A manic giggle escaped her, and despite all of her aches and bruises, she felt like jumping into the air and clapping her hands. If it weren’t for the red sun bracelet, she would have flown.

            Grinning from ear to ear, Kara turned towards Oliver. She all but skipped to him, and saw that he was stifling a smile. Despite this, he limped towards her, and took a set of handcuffs out of one of his many pockets, and passed them to Kara.

            She did her best to school her features into the strict professional she sometimes attempted to be, and put the cuffs on Zora, taking care to not disturb the red sun emitter still on her wrist.

Kara turned away, but impulsively pivoted back towards Zora, sharply punching her in the face, knocking her out.

            Once she was sure Zora was secure, she turned back to Oliver, doing her best not to seem as though she was looking for approval, although she definitely was.

            Oliver surveyed the situation, and once he seemed satisfied, he turned back to Kara, allowing his tight smile to spread into a full on beam. He was beaming at her. Oliver Jonas Queen was beaming at Kara Zor-El.

            He limped to her, still smiling, and extended a hand, saying “nice job, Supergirl.”

            Kara promptly ignored the extended hands, and pulled him into a hug.

            For the second time in five minutes, Kara blushed. But this time, it was for an entirely different reason.

 

_Oliver Queen_

 

            He really had thought it was over when she missed with the arrow. And she surprised him. Despite his ability to adapt, and predict, and control, she always managed to surprise him.

            She had used that strength that was so deeply embedded in her core, the strength that he had seen, but she so rarely had a reason to use.

            After Oliver was confident that Zora was properly detained, he turned to Kara.

            Her smile was still annoyingly infectious.

            Oliver barely managed to remember his boundaries that he had carefully established  and promised to adhere to so long ago when he put out his hand.

            A big part of him was relieved when Kara ignored his hand, and brought him in for a hug.

            After a long moment, he reluctantly pulled away.

            He tried to ignore Kara’s look of disappointment.

            He failed.

            Using James as an excuse, he started making his way towards the still unconscious man, when his leg gave out under him. Oliver fell, and Kara was there immediately, as she always seemed to be lately.

            “I’m fine, Kara, go check on James.”

            “You already checked on him, he’s okay.”

            “I could have been wrong…”

            “You’re Oliver Queen. You’re not wrong -- I trust you.”

            And Oliver believed it. He believed that this incredible, strong, intelligent woman trusted him. Really trusted him.

            He… He didn’t deserve this trust. He didn’t deserve this. He knew that. But it was extremely hard to remember this when she looked at him like that.

            “Are you okay?” She said, and he realized that he had missed it the first time she had asked.

            “Uh.. yea, yes. Yes.” He stumbled over his words. He didn’t stumble over his words -- He was Oliver Queen. He was the Arrow.

            Kara didn’t seem to notice. Their eyes had locked. Oliver desperately searched for something to say, something to break the building tension. A big part of him didn’t want to.

Turns out, he didn’t have to.

            A breach opened up across the fortress, and out stepped Cisco and Barry, fists up and dressed in leather. Winn hesitantly stepped out behind them.

            Oliver and Kara quickly jerked away from each other, and Kara stood up, before helping Oliver do the same.

            “What happened? Where is she?” Barry asked, panic in his voice.

            “Barry, late as always. Good to see you.”

            Barry pulled his leather cowl off, smiling ruefully, and went up to give Oliver a hug.

            “Ah, man! We missed the action. I was so excited to meet a Kando-Kandorian?” Cisco looked to Winn for confirmation. He nodded in response.

            “Well…” Kara said, skipping over to Cisco and Winn to give them each hugs, after which Winn went over to James, who was beginning to regain consciousness. “Wanna see her sent into a space prison?”

            “Um… YES.” Cisco said, his face lighting in excitement.

            Winn looked up from where he was squatting, “No way. No way! You’re using the Phantom Zone?!?! I have read all about and I know Clark has used it a couple times, but oh my, I never thought I would see it in person!”

            “Winn -- Winn!” Kara cut him off, much to Oliver’s relief. “Help James. And you won’t see it if you’re too busy talking about it.”

            “I mean, I could still see it, obviously because, well obviously you weren’t being serious, okay, hi James!” He said, changing his sentence at a pointed glare from Kara that made Oliver proud.

            As Kara and Cisco worked on getting portal to open the Phantom Zone ready (mostly Kara), and Winn helped James, Barry made his way back towards Oliver.

            “Sorry if we interrupted before,” Barry said, a knowing smile on his face. Oliver wished he could wipe it off.

            “You weren’t interrupting anything, Barry.”

            “Suuuure.”

            Oliver turned his attention wholly towards Barry, letting Kara and the others out of his sight and his focus.

            “Oliver, stop.” Barry said before Oliver could speak. “I know what you’re going to say, because you’ve said it before. Hell, I’ve said it before. Oliver, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, you deserve happiness. And she does too. So if you were to _not_ do something that would involve her, remember that it’s not just your feelings in the mix.”

            Before Oliver could answer, Kara announced that the device to send Zora into the Phantom Zone was ready, just as Zora was coming to.

            The Kandorian quickly realized what was going on, “No. No! Please, do not send me back there, back to where my sister was murdered.”

            Unlike the rest of their group, whose focus was trained on Zora, Oliver watched Kara. He could see the conflict tearing at her. But he also saw her resolve. She knew what was right.

            But that didn’t mean she had to do it alone.

            “Zora, you had your chance at a new life. This is the only way that the Earth can be safe. And you’ll have more of a life in the Phantom Zone then you would locked in a cell. Either way, I’m sorry,’’ Oliver said, noting Kara’s thankful look.

            Kara pressed the button to open the portal to the Phantom Zone, and Oliver grabbed Zora by the arms and walked her towards it. Still wary of Zora’s actions, Oliver couldn’t help but see the pain clearly written on Kara’s face.

            “I’m so sorry -- about this, and about your sister,” she said, before Zora took the final step, and the portal closed.

            Hesitantly, Oliver moved towards Kara, still limping.

            She grabbed onto his arm, needing his support more than he needed hers.

            He met her eyes, the red tinge from tears made the blue stand out even more.

            He gave her a small smile. “Come on, Kara. Let’s go home.”


	23. Chapter 23

_Oliver Queen_

            Oliver Queen hadn’t always been a speedy packer. Before the Gambit, he would take longer than Thea. But since the Island, the materials belongings seemed unimportant. As long as he had his bow and some arrows, he was set, and if he didn’t have them, he knew how to make them.

            His time working with ARGUS led to a different kind of preparation. ARGUS was when he started keeping a go bag. Now it felt like he couldn’t _not_ have one.

            Oliver had a go bag. His bow and stocked quiver were waiting for him at the DEO. Not one item of his remained out of place in Kara’s immaculately cleaned apartment, and that was how he had left it. But, when he had left, he hadn’t known all that would happen. He hadn’t known that he would return without a reason stay.

            He guessed that was why he was wandering around the empty apartment aimlessly, uselessly looking for things he knew he didn’t forget. Looking for ways to avoid returning to the DEO, where he was to meet Barry and Cisco to go back to their earth. Earlier he had received a text from Barry with a meet up time, and letting Oliver know that he and Winn were showing Cisco around Earth-38’s National City. Apparently, Barry was bored because Cisco and Winn wouldn’t stop talking about the suits they had made, and suggestions that each had.

            Oliver had smiled at that, before falling back onto the couch, his leg propped up on the table in front of him.

            It felt uncomfortable being in Kara’s apartment without her. It felt bigger somehow, emptier.

            Oliver didn’t envy Kara at the moment – she was probably an hour in to the lecture Alex was giving her.

            Kara, James, Barry, Cisco, and Oliver made it back to the DEO through a breach Cisco created. At that point, his broken leg hurt to the point where he barely heard J’onn’s lecture about stealing the jet, and he barely registered Kara snapping at J’onn to wait until he had seen a doctor.

            Oliver was still awake when Alex found Kara. Kara had been in the med bay, seated between the beds of James and Oliver, both of whom had ultimately faired worse than the human Girl of Steel.

            Alex had been a sight to behold, and that was saying a lot coming from Oliver. She was livid that Kara had done something as ill advised as finding Zora alone, and she was furious that Oliver hadn’t found her before going after Kara. Kara had simply stood to face Alex, a cool poise in her movements, and requested that Alex wait until Kara knew her friends were alright.

            Oliver had just hazily woken up a few hours later, when the DEO technicians finally got the red sun emitter off of Kara’s wrist. They could have had the bracelet off earlier, but Kara was adamant that Oliver’s leg and James’ head were treated first.

            He was in and out of sleep for the next few hours, the anesthetics keeping him thoroughly out of it. When he finally woke up almost 24 hours after their return from the Fortress, he was alone in the med bay, unless you counted the unconscious James. Which Oliver didn’t.

            Never one to let an injury get the better of him, Oliver dressed and found a DEO agent, who informed him that Kara had just left with Alex. Oliver had put two and two together, and decided that it was time to go home.

            At the time he meant Earth 1’s Star City, but now, a larger part of him felt planted, comfortably at home here. That’s not to say he didn’t miss Thea and Dig and Felicity, because he did every day, but he had a feeling that, once he returned, he would miss Kara and James and Alex, even Winn just as much.

            Oliver closed his eyes, taking his head in his hands. He knew what he had to do – he knew where he belonged. Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow didn’t just fight the grimy shadows of Star City, he blended into them, became them. He was meant for the dark fight of his hometown, he didn’t fit in among these heroes who wore no masks, and basked in the light and glory. There was no place for Oliver Queen in National City.

            But in Star City, he could make a difference. It didn’t matter how much it tainted him, he had been on the island for a reason, and he had become the Green Arrow for a reason. The city needs him, and he needs it. What was it that Kara had said? ‘So you can either float in space alone for the rest of your life, or you can live now with the people that care for you, the people who will wait for you. It’s up to you.’

            Star City was waiting for him. His people were waiting for him to come home, waiting for him to live.

So he picked up his bag, slung it across his shoulder, and limped down to the street, where a DEO car was waiting for him.

            Oliver felt ridiculous on the ride back, the window open, his head dangerously close to hanging out as he drank in, for the last time, this city that made him feel like he could truly be good. This city that had him harboring the arrogant notion that he could be more than a vigilante, that he could be a hero, like Kara and Clark and Barry.

            He made a point to adjust his line of sight so that he wouldn’t see the Supergirl street art that lived three blocks from the DEO. It was a reminder of a goodbye he didn’t yet want to confront.

            He arrived at the DEO a good hour before he, Cisco, and Barry were supposed to leave.

            God, he was frustrated. He didn’t want to go, but he knew he had to. He wanted to say goodbye, but he knew that if he did, it would make it even more difficult to leave.

            So he was stuck with his thoughts, stuck with the gratingly optimistic voice in his head (it sounded a lot like a certain speedster he knew) telling him that he deserved to be a hero. Telling him that it was okay to try, and telling him that what he wanted was valid, and that it wasn’t selfish.

            Although he didn’t remember getting there, Oliver wasn’t surprised to find himself on the balcony overlooking the city.

            And Oliver allowed himself to relax.

            He closed his eyes, and made his way through his body, relaxing every muscle as he went.

            Oliver felt the sun on his face. He heard the cars driving by below. He smelled pretzels from the vendor down the street.

            For the first time in a long time, Oliver just breathed.

            He heard J’onn approach from behind, and join him on the balcony, but Oliver didn’t allow himself to tense, instead keeping his eyes closed, and his breathing slow.

            “I underestimated you, Mr. Queen.”

            “I understand why, J’onn. What I do is dirty.”

            Oliver heard J’onn shift next to him, and Oliver finally opened his eyes.

            “Son, you save lives at the expense of your own. What you do is noble.”

            Oliver swallowed, a sense of accomplishment washing over him. What was it with this man and his taking in surrogate children?

            “Thank you, sir. That means a lot.” Oliver meant it. As an afterthought, he said “Sorry about the plane – I just…”

            “Needed to get to Kara,” J’onn cut him off, “I understand. Luckily for you, I happen to be a licensed pilot who doesn’t need a plane to fly. I’m off to get it now.”

            Oliver just nodded.

            “What you did, at the Fortress, was impressive. The DEO could use an agent like you, Mr. Queen.” J’onn said, his eyes moving back to the horizon.

            “I tried that once, an agency called ARGUS. It didn’t work so well. I’m better alone.” 

            “I’m not so sure about that – I think there is a reason you’ve taken to teaching, and I think you’re damned good at it. I think you’re at your best when you fight with those you trust. You could have that here.”

            “I appreciate the offer, J’onn, but I have to get home.”

            “That, I understand. But with this new dimension hopping business, we might as well just be a phone call away. Let us know if there is anyway we can help you in the future, and the DEO will be there,” J’onn stated, extending his hand.

            Oliver grasped it, shaking firmly – a bond forging. “The same goes for you. Just say the word, and my team and I are there.”

            J’onn began to walk away, when he hesitated. He turned back to Oliver, “if you don’t want to be an agent, we would still benefit from fighting lessons. Bi-weekly. Just a dimension breach away.”

            Oliver smiled genuinely, “I think I might be able to agree to that.”

            J’onn grinned back, “Oh, and Oliver. Take it easy on her,” he said furtively, before lifting off and flying towards the Fortress.

            Oliver barely had time to process J’onn’s parting words when he was being poked with inhuman strength.

 

_Kara Zor-El_

            She understood. He didn’t want a big goodbye, because she didn’t want all of the feelings that accompanied it. She understood, she really did, but that doesn’t mean she was going to let him get away with it.

            Oliver was facing towards J’onn as the martian took off, but Kara paid that little mind as she approached him.

            “Oliver Jonas Queen, are you leaving? And you didn’t tell me?” Kara said, eyebrows scrunched, while jabbing her finger into his shoulder.

            “I mean, I wasn’t – you were in with –” Oliver sighed. “I thought it would be easier. Goodbyes aren’t my forte. Never have been.”

            Kara decompressed. “I know that. And I understand. I understand you, Oliver Queen, as much as you try to avoid it,” she said, a knowing smiling lighting her face.

            “Don’t take it personally, I’m told I avoid social interaction with everyone,” Oliver replied, a smiling tugging at his lips.

            Kara watched in mild fascination as Oliver closed his eyes and turned back to the horizon. He seemed different, somehow. More relaxed, more at peace. There was still something so soothing about his presence, his constant stillness. She felt as though she could breathe and think and do anything with a clear mind.

            She realized a moment late that Oliver had opened his eyes, catching her stare, grinning, before turning to the view.

            “You know, Kara, I’ve been thinking about what you said, the night we first started training James,” Kara noted and appreciated Oliver’s generous use of the word ‘we.’

            She couldn’t help but observe the evident discomfort in Oliver’s movements, so she smiled supportively, saying, “care to be more specific? I said many sage things.”

            He smiled, some of his tension leaving, eyes still on the city. “You did. Good thing I didn’t get used to it.”

            She smacked his arm playfully, glad he was joking.

            “I have been thinking about how you said you woke up at the right time. You told me to choose to live. I think I will try to be different in Star City. And I’m not saying that I am going to be dressing up as Santa to spread cheer, but it’s time for me to live, to come back from the Island.” He caught her eyes, and she noticed the deep, steely blue.

            “Kara Zor-El, you taught me how to be brave, not as the Green Arrow, but as Oliver Queen.”

            Her breath was shallow; she didn’t know how to respond. “Me?”

            He smiled lightly, “you. You have the greatest capacity for good and light that I have ever seen. And your courage inspires me. I am so deeply grateful that I came with you to National City.”

            Is this what an asthma attack felt like? She knew it was psychosomatic, but she didn’t care. When had they moved this close to one another? She forgot about breathing. The heroes’ gazes remained locked for another few beats, until a potential something was interrupted by the beeping of Oliver’s phone.

            A spell broken, Oliver checked his phone as Kara stumbled back, her lungs filling with air once again.

            “That’s Barry. He, Cisco, and Winn will be back any minute. I should go meet them.”

            Despite his words, he stared at her a moment longer. His hand clenched, but this time not in his tic for his bow, but as though he was stopping himself from doing something.

            His face serious, Oliver simply said “thank you,” before turning and walking back into the building.

            Kara felt empty, as though everything had left her body. She held onto the balcony rail for support. She had taught him to live? She was courageous? How was that possible? But she knew. She was courageous. She always had been. She was strong, and able, and willing to put herself out there. So why not now?

            Determined, Kara turned to the doors to the DEO, seeing Oliver had barely made it past the door. In three large bounds that may have incorporated a bit of flying, Kara reached him. In two swift movements, she had grabbed his arm, and turned him toward her. In one stare, she knew he consented. And in seemingly no time at all, their lips met.


	24. Chapter 24

_Kara Zor-El_

            The kiss was an introduction. It was a new beginning. It was coming downstairs on Christmas morning, fitting in the last piece of a puzzle, waking up and getting out of a pod. The kiss filled Kara to the brim, it made her feel immeasurable, and she understood why humans could imagine what it was to fly.

            Soon, too soon, Oliver pulls out of the kiss. At least she thought it was too soon – it felt as though time had ceased to have meaning. They could have been kissing for seconds or hours, and she wouldn’t have been able to tell.

            Kara was breathing heavily, as Oliver turned a way from her, walking to the railing for support and hanging his head.

            The doubt entered against her will. He had nodded, right? That wasn’t just a construct of her overeager imagination? They had been so close, so many times, hadn’t they? Had he not felt that they had fit together, as she did?

            “I’m sorry, I just… had to do that before you left.” She said, her voice as small as she felt.

            Oliver exhaled. “Don’t… Don’t be sorry. You have nothing to apologize for.”

            “I mean, its just that this thing has just been building and building and I just couldn’t tell if it was one-sided and I… Rao, I don’t know. It didn’t feel one-sided…” She gathered up the courage Oliver had just spoken about, and asked, “Was it?”

            Oliver turned to her, switching one hand to the other side of the railing, so his back was to it. “No, Kara, it wasn’t one sided,” he said, a rueful smile on his face.

            Kara took a moment to process her relief, before asking, “Then what’s wrong?”

            His eyebrows knitted, as he tried to figure out his words. Kara waited, patiently, understanding his need to word his answer properly.

            “I can’t… do this to you. You are just so, so good. You feel incorruptible, and I can’t help but feel that I would be the exception to that. Kara, I want to… go there with you. But you are so good for me, and I think I am so bad for you. I can’t drag you down like that.”

            As Oliver finished talking, he allowed himself to slide down the railing, so he was sitting with his back against it.

            Kara sat down next to him, legs crossed. “Oliver, I am not perfect, and you’re not bad for me. And even if you were, its my decision too, not just yours. I deserve the right to play a part in choosing whom I spend my time with. And, no matter what you think of yourself, I’d choose you. I see you, Oliver. I see past those dumb walls, and I see past those shadows, and I see that you’re good, too. You bring out the best in me, Oliver Queen, and I think we deserve a chance to figure out whatever is going on here, don’t you?”

            Oliver stared into the distance, thinking, for long enough that Kara felt thoroughly anxious.

            Finally, he turned to her. “Supposed I heard what you were saying, and I agreed with you, what do you propose we do about the small matter of living on different worlds?”

            Kara’s shoulders fell. She hadn’t given much thought about that. Frankly, she hadn’t thought about much besides the kiss, she hadn’t allowed herself to.

            Before she could answer, Oliver continued. “J’onn actually gave me an idea, regarding this issue. He pointed out that, with the interdimensional extrapolator, we are virtually one breach away from each other. It would be difficult, but I think it would be possible to… explore this from different worlds.”

            Kara smiled, leaning towards him, “I’ve always excelled at overcoming difficult obstacles.”

            “I had a feeling,” Oliver said, before grabbing her chin and kissing her again. This time, it was gentle. It was a slow burn, it was a night out as a teenager, feeling like the morning would never come, it was learning, and welcoming.

            When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads still resting on each other, Kara said, “so, weekly date nights?”

            Oliver smiled, before nodding, and saying “I can agree to those terms.”

            He lifted his head, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. Kara relaxed into it, before resting her head in the crook of his neck.

            They sat like that for a while, talking about ways that they could continue to see each other, until Kara heard the familiar excited chatter of Winn on the elevator. She lifted her head up.

            “Winn is here, with Barry and Cisco. I guess its time for you to really leave.”

            She saw Oliver’s hesitancy, and assumed that he didn’t want to show affection in front of Barry and Cisco. She shook her head, as Oliver started to say “Do you think that we…”

            “Could not tell them about our whatever this is yet? Sure.”

            Kara could feel the tension leave Oliver from being sat so closely next to him.

            “But I still want to say goodbye to you…” He trailed off.

            So did she, but she had a way to do so without anyone knowing. Kara jumped to her feet, and pulled Oliver up after her. Quickly smirking at him, she picked Oliver up in a fireman carry, and flew them up so she was just above the top of the entrance to the balcony.

            Oliver just smiled at her; shaking his head, “Show off.”

            She grinned back, “absolutely.”

 

_Cisco Ramone_

            Okay, this Winn guy was cool, and definitely had some dope ideas, but wow he could talk.

            Cisco was about to loose it when Kara and Oliver finally showed up, coming in from the balcony. Based on Oliver’s traditionally stoic look alone, Cisco would have just assumed that they came from her apartment, but Kara’s face told a different story. She seemed downright giddy.

            Before Cisco could comment on it, Barry interjected, “Ready to go?”

The way Barry said that was suspicious too, with a look on his face like he knew something Cisco didn’t. That wasn’t cool. Cisco liked to be in the know, always.

            Kara made her way to Barry and Cisco, hugging them both, but Cisco’s attention was on Oliver.

Oliver nodded his head stiffly, before heading to Winn to give him a hug. That was new for Cisco – he had never known Oliver to willingly give people hugs unprompted. Next came Alex, who had come out to join the group. She also received a hug. Oliver said something to her about maintaining James’ workout regimen. Alex nodded, dutifully. Nerds.

            Next, Oliver turned to Kara.

            He just smiled secretively at her, and nodded his head, saying, “It was good to work with you, Supergirl.”

            She seemed to struggle to school her face into a serious mask, “Same to you, Green Arrow.”

            “Cisco,” Oliver said, turning to him.

            “Yup, one piping hot breach to earth-one, coming up.” He said, before turning to do so.

            The last thing Cisco saw before entering the breach was one last indecipherable look between Kara and Oliver, and then the worlds changed.

 

_Oliver Queen_

            It felt truly bizarre to be back in Star Labs. Part of Oliver was thrilled to be able to go home and see Thea, to sleep in a real bed, to get back to normalcy.

            But he had a request for Cisco, before he could do so.

            The man in question had already returned to his computer, doing something that was beyond Oliver’s comprehension.

            “Cisco, I need a favor.”

            Cisco jumped, “Dammit man. I know you’re practically a ninja, but a cough or something. Consider it.”

            “Sorry,” Oliver said, before giving an exaggerated fake cough.

            “Better, but next time try it before you cause the innocent techie to pee his pants. What do you need?”

            “I was hoping to get an interdimensional extrapolator, like the one you made for Kara. I told J’onn I would teach combat at the DEO on a bi-weekly basis.”

            “Of course you did, you freaking ninja. Yea, I have an extra one somewhere….” Cisco said, shuffling around in his desk. “Ah, here! Here you go. Anything else?”

            Oliver took the small device, turning it over in his hands once before depositing it in his pocket.

            “Actually, yes. Is there a way you could create a phone, or something like one, that would allow me to communicate with their world? Calling, texting, that sort of thing.”

            “I’ve never thought about that, but I suppose… if I… No wait… Wait! That’s it!” Cisco said, jumping to his feet at his realization.

            “You can do it?”

            “What? No. Well yes, and probably in a few days, but no. That’s not whats it. You’re sleeping with Supergirl!” He said, nodding his head in approval. “Nice job, man,” Cisco extended his hand to Oliver.

            Oliver stared at it for a moment, before grabbing it. It was a half a second before the force on Cisco’s hand grew uncomfortable, and Oliver pulled Cisco towards him, so they were at each other’s ears.

            “No, Cisco, I’m not. And I recommend you don’t spread that around.” Oliver said in a hushed voice. “Now, if I were you, I’d get working on that phone.” He released Cisco, who fell back into his chair.

            “Yep, right. I’m on it.” He said, voice squeaky.

 

**Four days later**

            Oliver sat in his office, turning the phone over and over in his hands. He didn’t know why he was nervous. He had no reason to be nervous. And yet, here he was.

            Oliver sighed, before pressing the call button on the number that had already been keyed up.

            His foot shook slightly as the phone rang.

            “Kara Danvers.”

            Oliver’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

            “Hello? Winn, I swear to Rao, if this is another prank call…”

            “Kara?”

            Oliver heard the bustle on the other end of the phone stop.

            “Oliver?”

            He exhaled, “It worked.”

            “What worked? How is this even possible? Are you here? Did you get a new phone?”

            He chuckled lightly, “Cisco, I think answers all of the questions.”

            “Yes! That wonderful nerd did it!”

            Oliver relaxed into his chair, “how are you?’

            “I’m alright. The house feels empty without you here. Oh you will love this, the day after you left, James tried to wake up late for practice! You should have seen the lecture Alex gave to him. It would have made you proud.”

            Oliver smiled and laughed, listening to Kara talk about the past few days. He felt at peace, for the first time in a long time. So he and Kara talked, for about an hour, before they both had to go back to work, promising that they would talk again tonight.

            The smile was still on his face when Lance walked into his office.

            Lance stopped when he saw the smile, and stared at Oliver confused. “You, alright?”

            Oliver just continued to grin, “You know what’s weird? Yes, I am. I’m good.”

 

**THE END**


	25. Sequel

You guys wanted a sequel, well you got one! Go check out [Supporting Each Other!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13407252) Let me know what you think. I will do my best to make updates regular. Name of the story might be changed.


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